


A Trip to New Orleans

by CandyCane1287



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27723500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CandyCane1287/pseuds/CandyCane1287
Summary: Loosely based off 6x12 TVD and some Original stuff, but mainly au & canon.Caroline's mom just died and she just got painfully rejected by Stefan at the funeral. With nothing holding her back, she shuts off her humanity and decides to leave Mystic Falls for a year, eventually ending up in New Orleans...
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John, Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Davina Claire/Kol Mikaelson, Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore, Hayley Marshall/Elijah Mikaelson, Marcel Gerard/Rebekah Mikaelson
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!  
> This is my first work of KC fic so I hope you like it :)

CHAPTER 1: A Sudden Departure

Caroline needed to be anywhere but here, in her house where she grew up with her mother who was taken away by a monster called cancer. She shed all the tears that needed to be shed today, including some tears of pain because of Stefan’s rejection at the funeral. 

As she took off her shoes, Elena strolled in through the kitchen with a warm mug of tea in her hands.  
“What are you doing here Elena? I thought I told you that I’m fine,” Caroline said, who attempted to keep her voice smooth and calm.  
“I don’t believe you Care.” All that Caroline could think of at that moment is how annoying Elena was and all she wanted was for Elena to go away, so she changed her strategy.  
“I lost my mom Elena,” she said, allowing her tears to fall “and it hurts. It hurts so much that I can’t breathe.” At that instant, Elena extended her arms to embrace Caroline. But it wasn’t comforting in the slightest and not even remotely as comforting as her mother’s embrace that she already missed so much. Caroline was so fed up with it all, tired of feeling this wounding pain so she used that opportunity to snap Elena’s neck, go up to pack her necessary stuff and she left her house with her humanity in it.

One year. That was more than enough time for her to not feel guilty, not feel anything. That was all she needed. With that in mind, she set off to New York, her phone turned off to avoid all the hounding messages and phone calls she was sure she’d be receiving from the crew of Mystic Falls.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Stefan entered Caroline’s house quickly, having noticed the door being left wide open.  
“Caroline? Where-“  
“She’s not here,” Elena said, rubbing her now sore neck. Stefan shot her a questioning look until she said “ She’s gone.” The silence spoke volumes as Stefan realized that Elena meant more than her physical presence. She meant her humanity.  
“Call Damon. Bonnie. Matt, whatever but we need to figure out a plan before it’s too late.” With that, Stefan started to conjure failed plans within his mind as Elena called the gang, the word “ripper” hovering in the air around them.

Once they had all arrived and talked about the preceding events, there was a lot of noisy bickering and yelling as they struggled to formulate a decent enough plan. That was until Matt said, “Do you think we should call Klaus?”  
All their heads swiveled around to look at him, a frown appeared on Damon’s face while Elena’s face was plastered with shock. Stefan and Bonnie took a few moments to consider this while there was an uncomfortable silence around the room.  
“That’s not a bad plan, Donovan,” Damon remarked as he reached out to drink his quality bourbon. Elena still looked as though she was having a mental battle in her head while Stefan chimed in.  
“Do you think she could have gone to New Orleans? If she did, I’m going there because I’m the only one who can get her back.”  
Bonnie took a step towards Stefan and said “We don’t know that she’s there for sure. But I think that calling Klaus is a good place to start because we all know he loves her and besides, I want my best friend back so we’ve got to try anything.”  
“Yes, I know he likes her but still, he’s dangerous, for all we know-”  
Elena was interrupted when Stefan said “I’ll call him,” as he pulled out his phone.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Being King of New Orleans wasn’t an easy job by far. There would be enemies lurking behind the shadows of the streets, waiting to attack. But Klaus knew the city all too well. Besides, no one would dare mess with him and his family which now included Hayley and his precious daughter Hope. Not after he just defeated Marcel and his army of vampires for the second and hopefully the last time. But he still had many up and downs with his family, daggering them when he was particularly frustrated. And then there was Camille, his “therapist” that he would have to compel each time after their sessions together. He somehow started to develop feelings for her, perhaps because she was kind, innocent and beautiful. But she somehow reminded him of another blond that was fierce, defiant and full of light. Caroline. He did always wonder how she was doing since their last encounter in the woods, which he would certainly not forget.

As he stood outside on the balcony of his family home, trying to calm himself after the tiring events of his day, his phone started ringing incessantly.  
“What now?” he huffed, letting a sigh escape from his mouth. His anger began to build up as he walked towards the constantly vibrating phone until he glanced down at who was calling non-stop. Stefan. He couldn’t help but question why his old friend kept bothering him, especially since they haven’t spoken in a while. Klaus finally picked the phone up to answer with a curious yet cocky Klaus-like greeting.  
“Hello old friend, to what do I owe the pleasure?”  
Stefan coughed awkwardly as he gathered up his words.  
“Hey Klaus, how are you?”  
“Get to it old friend, I don’t have all day.” He huffed impatiently as the last thing he wants to deal with is Stefan and the doppelganger.  
“Caroline’s mom died and she turned her humanity off. To summarise it, she bolted and we can’t find her.”  
Klaus’s attitude instantly changed from impatient and annoyed to determined and worried from the moment that he heard Caroline’s name.  
“I will find her.” Then he hung up. All his memories of them flashed by in his mind as determination replaced his anger, a streak of his yellow hybrid glow flashing in his eyes.  
He would find her if it’s the last thing he would do.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Caroline compelled the hotel manager to let her take the best suite of the 5-star hotel, without paying a dime. With her most innocent smile, she proceeded to her home for the next couple of weeks and unpacked in an orderly manner. Even if she didn’t have her humanity, she was still Caroline after all. 

After settling down, she decided to finally reactivate her phone. 200 new messages from her friends, 50 missed calls between Elena and Bonnie, including some voicemails from the others and a full collection of those from Stefan. What an annoying parting gift for me, she thought as she rolled her eyes. He was a coward now, but anyway it didn’t matter because she didn’t care anymore. Without a doubt, she deleted all of it and let herself fall asleep in peace.

The next afternoon, after putting on makeup and curling her hair, she decided to go see all that New York has to offer, including the famous sites and markets and other places worth going to see. The brief thought of Klaus and his words flooded her mind, but she was quick to push it out of her mind and she allowed herself to drown in shopping on 5th Avenue.

When she finally spent a sufficient number of hours being outside in the winter cold, she returned home with the maximum number of shopping bags possible for her to hold. When she reached the hotel, she commanded the help to carry her bags and strode off to her room, unaware of the blonde-haired, elegantly composed girl standing in the corner with a chocolate skinned person.


	2. What A Pleasant Surprise

Rebekah had been in New York for a few days now, enjoying the engaged life with Marcel. The proposal had been bittersweet as he took her to her favorite location in Manhattan and they celebrated. After being daggered by her paranoid brother Nik and having to endure few months stuck in the all too familiar coffin, she had had enough and decided to flee with Marcel to be happy.

The last person she and Marcel had expected to see was Caroline. Having told Marcel her history with Caroline and the relationship that she had with Nik, she decided to talk to Marcel about it in their suite which was just a couple of rooms away from her.  
“Marcel, do you think that I should inform Nik?” she said, unaware that Klaus and the Mystic Falls gang were desperately trying to look for her.  
“It can’t hurt to, right?”  
“Yes, I suppose I should.” Rebekah slowly climbed out of the bed, reluctant to leave the comforting warmth. With that, she grabbed her phone and went to the balcony, spotting Caroline returning to the hotel with many shopping bags once again. Rebekah rolled her eyes and then pressed the dial button. When he didn't pick up, she sighed and left him a voicemail.  
“Nik it’s me. I know you’re mad at me but you should call me back when you can. I have something very important to tell you.”  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caroline yawned after having a long but fun first day in New York, slowly forcing herself to change without collapsing. After having many drinks at the club last night, she groaned at the mere thought of the hangover to come as she climbed into bed.

The next morning, a loud knock at the door woke her up. “Leave me alone,” she said, deciding to ignore it while she began to suffer the excruciating pain of her hangover. It seemed to be that what she said didn’t phase off the irritating person knocking on the door so she just miserably groaned again, stretched and headed over, starting to curse as she said “If you don’t go away, I swear to God-“  
She was cut off with a bitter, sarcastic voice saying “room service!”  
In the state that Caroline was, she managed to recognize the voice, but couldn’t match who it belonged to.  
“Give me a sec!” She shouted as she cleaned herself up, yet the intruder entered anyway.  
“Oh my god, seriously?”  
Caroline started to get irritated and was ready to bite this human because honestly, she could have done with a snack.  
“Hello Caroline.” Rebekah, just great, Caroline thought.  
“Rebekah, I would say it’s nice to see you, but I honestly don’t care.”  
“Now now Caroline, no need to be so rude.”  
“Well there was no need for you to freaking barge in here, was there?” At this point, Rebekah just lets out a short laugh before continuing.  
“You are coming with me.” Caroline scoffed. Who does she think she is?  
“No, I-“  
“Still the same stubborn Caroline, even with your humanity off. I don’t know what my brother sees in you. Well anyway, we can do it the easy way or the hard way.” Caroline was slightly shocked that Rebekah knew, so if she knew then…Klaus knew. At that, she reluctantly zoomed around the room to gather her belongings and set off to their destination…. New Orleans. This was going to be fun, she thought…  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
When Klaus received the voicemail Rebekah left him, he unwillingly opened it after a few hours, but when he heard what she said, he immediately rang back. As soon as he heard Caroline was there in the same hotel, he practically barked commands at Marcel and Rebekah to bring her here. While he was glad that she was exploring the world and took his advice that a small-town life wasn’t good enough for her, he would have liked it to be under better circumstances.

As the SUV car pulled up in front of the Mikaelsons’ compound on the following day, Marcel and Rebekah came out first with Caroline reluctantly following behind them, with an obvious and loud, audible scoff of annoyance. Klaus dashed off to the entrance, desperate to see her again. Even if she was here without her humanity, he could be there for her and eventually help her to turn it back on, more than the ripper could anyway.

“Seriously Rebekah?” Caroline scoffed, clearly agitated. Rebekah being Rebekah ignored Caroline and walked in with Marcel, receiving a cool greeting from Klaus.  
“Rebekah. Marcel. I do hope you enjoyed your honeymoon together,” said Klaus, in such a way that Rebekah ended up glaring daggers at him. Marcel had to restrain her while Klaus said “Easy ‘Bekah.”  
“I brought your precious cargo. Can I leave now?”  
Klaus’ smirk was wiped off his face.  
“I suggest you leave before I will have to dagger you again.” Rebekah approached him and silently said, "I hope ruining my engagement holiday was worth it." Then she stormed off angrily with Marcel, grunting as she does so while Klaus laughed.  
“What’s so funny?” Caroline said as she strode through the entrance.  
“Hello love,” Klaus remarked, with his typical smirk resting on his face.  
“Seriously? What’s so funny? She has a point.”  
“Whatever do you mean love?” he said, feigning innocence, knowing what she was referring to, ruining her holiday and Rebekah’s. Caroline rolled her eyes and scoffed, which only made Klaus question if her humanity is off as she was still acting like Caroline.  
“Ugh, whatever. Where’s my room? I’m assuming I’m staying here since you practically forced me to come to stay with you.” His smirk still remained in place as he said “follow me.” As she moved to grab her stuff, he said “allow me, love” and she couldn’t help but respond by rolling her eyes.

Once she settled, she found her way to the kitchen, seeing Klaus, Elijah and out of all people possible, there she was. Hayley. Granted, her emotions were off, but it still infuriated her to see the werewolf slut sitting with the Mikaelsons in their house.  
“I’m hungry” Caroline exclaimed as she entered the room.  
“Of course love, here you go.” He handed her a blood bag which she inhaled within seconds. Since Caroline really didn’t care about anyone’s emotions at this point she decided to ask Klaus about Hayley.  
“What is she doing here Klaus?” Klaus couldn’t help but pick up on the slight bitterness Caroline held for Hayley.  
“Are you jealous love?”  
“No, I just hate her. You know, with her snapping my neck and all, and cheating with my supposed boyfriend.” She said it especially so that Hayley could hear it, anger simmering through the surface.  
Even at the mention of that Lockwood mutt, Klaus felt rage boiling within him and as he was thinking about that, Caroline pulled him out of the trance.  
“You didn’t answer my question, why is she here Klaus?”  
“Well, during my stay in Mystic Falls, Hayley and I had a drunken one night stand which resulted in the birth of my daughter, Hope.” He patiently waited to see Caroline’s reaction but she ended up retreating and approaching Hayley, with an uncomfortable laugh.  
“You know Hayley, I gave you less credit than you deserve. You sure do like sleeping around with everyone. No wonder you’re a werewolf slut.” This comment only seems to irritate Hayley as she stood up, ready for a fight while Caroline stood there, with a triumphant grin on her face.  
Elijah, of course, being the noble brother, stoop up to separate them.  
“Miss Forbes, I understand that your humanity is off, but leave Hayley be.”  
With that, Caroline scoffed and left the room. Klaus followed her, silently apologizing to his brother and Hayley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy about how it's turning out so far :>


	3. A day out in the city of New Orleans

While Caroline stood on her balcony thinking about this, a small part of her humanity was starting to seep through the surface as she could feel the jealousy invade. Klaus said to her that he’d wait for her, that he’d be her last love and of course she didn’t expect him to not love anyone else, but it really took her by surprise when he knew who Hayley was, slept with her and had a child with her. Caroline scoffed, shook her head, and retreated downstairs to grab some food. 

“Caroline.” She refused to turn around. “Caroline, please.” Rolling her eyes, she forced herself to look at him.  
“What do you want, Klaus?”   
“I hope you know that the night I spent with Hayley meant nothing.” Caroline laughed at this.  
“Look, Klaus, I couldn’t care less anymore. My humanity is off and you’re free to do whatever you want so by all means, just go.”  
But he didn’t. Instead, he came closer to Caroline. He saw through her act and knew her emotions were present, well, her being jealous.  
“Caroline. I meant what I said that night. However long it takes.” With that, he pecked her on the cheek, his lips lingering for a split of a second, and escorted her back to her room.  
“Yeah, whatever,” she mumbled as she left, knowing that Klaus would hear her.

The next few weeks flew by quickly with the same daily routine.  
Caroline would linger around the house, sometimes going on a walk if she was bored with her hybrid companions keeping an eye on her, on the orders of Klaus. But she was mainly avoiding the original hybrid, mostly to avoid him trying to turn her humanity on, and throughout the day, she would make small talk with Elijah and even bicker lightly with Rebekah, but barely allowed herself to be near them.

One morning Caroline entered the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Klaus didn’t seem to be present so she exchanged a brief greeting with Elijah and barely acknowledged Hayley. As she got ready to go out and explore what New Orleans had to offer, Klaus entered the courtyard, drenched in blood from head to toe and Caroline didn’t pass up this opportunity to make a remark.  
“Seems like someone woke on the wrong side of the bed this morning…” said Caroline, smirking at Klaus. Instead of throwing his usual temper fits as he does with his family, he replied calmly.  
“There was a threat to this family and I had to go deal with it. Where do you think you’re going, love?”  
“I’m just going out to see what New Orleans has to offer. Oh, and before I forget, you owe me a tour.” A smile was now plastered on Klaus’ face and Caroline took out her phone which was playing the voicemail that he had left for her.  
“You saved it.” Caroline rolled her eyes at Klaus’s widening grin.  
“Come on, clean up, and let’s go.” 

Within 5 minutes, Klaus is in jeans and a henley, ready to depart the courtyard to show Caroline his favorite place: the music, the art, the culture, and the life of New Orleans. He knew that they needed to talk about everything out in the open, including why she avoided him for the last few weeks.

As she walked down the street, Klaus observed her. For someone without humanity, she seemed to be in control of her life. He would never miss an opportunity to spend time with his queen, which he wanted her to be. But he needed the other Caroline back. His Caroline.   
“So, love, what do you think?” Caroline turned back around to look at him, a devilish grin stuck on her face.  
“I like it here and honestly, I’m so happy I left Mystic Falls, otherwise I probably would have been stuck there in the endless Salvatore-Gilbert cycle and ugh, imagine that.” She sighed as she continued walking while Klaus took her smooth hand in his.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence in the noise of New Orleans, Klaus thought it best to bring up the events of the last few weeks.  
“Caroline-“he began before she interrupted him, with a cold voice.  
“Don’t,” she snapped as she pulled her hand away from his. Klaus instantly regretted it but continued anyway.  
“Why were you avoiding me?” Caroline stopped in her tracks, shaking her head in disbelief.  
“Seriously?” Klaus looked at her in confusion, thinking it was related to Haley.  
“Klaus, stop trying to get my humanity back. I just want a year and I’m fine.” Caroline came towards him, almost as if she was going to kiss him but she said,” If you try anything and I mean anything to get it back on, let’s just say you’ll see dead bodies flooding the streets of New Orleans.” Then she took off.  
Klaus knew better than to misjudge Caroline because when she was determined to do something, she would do it, so he sighed and followed her tracks back to the compound, after all, the last thing he wanted was Marcel to pester him about dead humans and the Mystic Fall gang on top of him too.

After he caught up to her and entered the compound, Hayley was in the entrance holding baby Hope with her husband Jackson while Elijah was nowhere to be seen.   
“Caroline,” Hayley started.  
“Hayley. No introductions?” Caroline scoffed in mock hurt and before she decided to hurl some insult at Hayley, Klaus decided to spare Haley the agony by cutting in.  
“Caroline, this is Jackson, Hayley’s husband. He’s an alpha of a wolf pack. The baby is our daughter, Hope.” Caroline thought about this pensively before asking to hold her.  
“Can I hold her?” Her arms were ready to latch onto the baby while Hayley was hesitant.” Oh come on, Hayley, I wouldn’t hurt a baby.” Yet Hayley seemed very reluctant. Klaus decided to interject before things escalated.  
“Hayley let Caroline hold Hope please.”  
“No. I'm sorry Klaus, but I trust her. She’s not family and with her humanity off who knows what she’ll do.”   
“Fine. Whatever, I’m tired.” Without warning, Caroline vanished to her room.  
Klaus glares at Hayley, a silent look of communication between the two.  
Once he was sure Caroline couldn't hear them, he whispered to Hayley saying, "That could have helped me get her humanity back, and you ruined it little wolf."  
while Hayley responded with an apologetic look before saying, " I’m sorry Klaus, if you trust her, then I’ll learn to trust her too."  
With that, Klaus left to deal with other unattended matters while Caroline was in bed, the smallest hint of humanity slowly subsiding.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Stefan was starting to get anxious and felt even more guilty as each day dragged on. He was worried that Caroline would become like him. A ripper. He was almost completely certain that she would.  
“I should go to New Orleans.” Stefan finally looked up at his brother and Elena.  
“Let Klaus deal with Blondie, he will turn her humanity back on in no time brother.” Damon had a very relaxed stance as Elena stood up and walked over to Stefan.  
“Maybe Stefan should, I mean, what if Klaus doesn’t and she ends up out of control?” Elena was now pacing as she argued with herself once again.  
“Relax Elena, if you’re so concerned, I’ll call him.”

Damon pressed dial as he pulled out the devil’s number from his contacts list, a small part of him hoping Caroline was alright, purely for the sake of his younger brother.  
“Damon, to what do I owe the pleasure? I assume you called for Caroline.” Damon rolled his eyes as he said “How is she?”  
Klaus briefly informed them that she was doing well without her humanity and that he would get her back before hanging up abruptly.  
“Well that went well,” chimed Elena which didn’t help Stefan’s growing nerves.

An hour later, Bonnie and Matt arrived and they were informed will all the details, including Stefan informing them about his intention to go to New Orleans.  
“I think I should go. I think it’s fair to say she trusts me most now out of everyone.” As Elena opens her mouth in protest, Bonnie says “I’ll take Enzo with me. It’s going to be fine.” Everyone agreed that they would leave in a couple of days after informing Enzo who reluctantly agreed. They were going to go help Caroline back, one way or another.


	4. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cami is being introduced here properly. Note: in this version, she and Klaus only started to like each other, they weren't in love.  
> Hope you enjoy it!

Caroline decided to defy Klaus’ rule of her not going out without anyone accompanying her, anyone meaning Klaus. Her humanity was completely gone, so she took herself shopping and entered Rousseau’s bar.  
“What can I get for you?” Caroline eyed the bartender which a cheeky grin on her face.  
“A martini.”  
“Any snack to go with it?” The poor little bartender thought Caroline.  
“Now that you mention it, I’m actually so freaking starving.” She leaned forward to compel the girl to forget what she was about to do.  
“You’re going to stand still while I feed on you and you won’t scream,” said Caroline, unaware that she was taking vervain.  
“Actually I’m not. I’m on vervain.” This seemed to slightly surprise Caroline.  
“Ugh. This is just getting complicated, and I can’t be bothered. Just go get my martini and so help me God, if you try anything…” Cami was frightened so she walked off calmly, claiming that she was just going to the back to get some ice.  
That was obviously a lie and as she was eyeing Caroline, she called Klaus.  
“Klaus it’s me, some vampire just tried to feed off of me and I need you to get here.”

Klaus forgot about Camille in the time he had spent with Caroline. So when he was furious and on the lookout for Caroline, he was rather surprised when Camille rang him, having not properly spoken to her in a while. Once he had heard Camille was in danger, he left the compound, oblivious to the fact that the threat to Camille was Caroline, and yet that took him aback when he arrived. 

As he entered the bar, he saw a hungover blonde chatting to Camille with ease as Camille looked terrified.  
“Do you have a boyfriend? Do you even have a social life? Cause if you don’t then I think we could be friends.” Caroline giggled as she was about to take another shot. Klaus immediately came over, pulling the shot away from her hands as she almost lost her balance on her chair, still upright because of Klaus’s sturdy hand.  
“Oh my God, seriously?” Caroline was beyond frustrated as she said that, rolling her eyes and eventually turned around to face him.  
”First you ruined my holiday and now this? God, you’re so annoying.” Caroline huffed as she stood to get up. Klaus stopped her from going anywhere though and she didn’t even bother moving.  
“Klaus, how do you know her?” said Camille, now at his side. Caroline had a sudden realization that not only did this girl rat her out to Klaus, but if she knew Klaus they must have a connection, and it seemed to be a romantic one at that as she noticed the girl’s hand brush against Klaus’ arm.  
“Ok, I’m gonna head out now before I barf. Caroline said as she felt the familiar pang of jealousy hit her. So not only did he sleep and have a baby with her enemy, but he moved on. God, this is bringing out my human insecurities, she thought.   
“You’re not going anywhere, Caroline.”  
“Who are you to tell me what to do? Honestly, you’re not my friend, you’re not my boyfriend and it doesn’t give you the right to tell me what to do so just leave me alone.” As she started walking off, Klaus went in front of her rapidly, gripping her arm so that she couldn’t leave.   
“Let me go,” said Caroline through gritted teeth as she became annoyed.  
“No.” They had somehow moved so that they were only a couple of inches away from each other, and they probably would have kissed if either of them moved in the slightest.  
Camille coughed awkwardly in the background as Klaus withdrew unwillingly and turned to face her while Caroline didn’t hesitate to leave. 

By the time she reached the compound, her irritability was at its peak. She felt that even without her humanity, she still had emotions and she was fed up. So she decided to change to the extreme, consequences be damned.  
As she made a plan to grab herself a decent human meal, she stopped in her tracks.   
“Surprise!”  
“Bonnie? Enzo?”  
“Hello, gorgeous.” Caroline rolled her eyes at that. As they were about to speak, she said, “If you’ve come to get the old Caroline back, you’re too late. She’s gone.” She then proceeded to smirk and leave them stranded in the compound as she vanished into thin air.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
After explaining the situation to Camille, Klaus set off to look for Caroline.   
He set off to the compound, barking orders with his raging temper, even calling Rebekah and Marcel to help him too. He was so close to getting her back, but he feared that he pushed her away after she discovered his feelings for Camille and his moment with Hayley. Despite all of this, Klaus was even more determined to get her back.

When he left his study, he saw the Bennett witch with a tall vampire standing next to her.  
“Ah, the Bennett witch and her companion.”  
“Klaus, this is my boyfriend Enzo. We came here to look for Caroline and bring her humanity back.”  
“Did the ripper send you?” He smirked but he started to slowly loathe Stefan for earning Caroline’s love.  
“He wanted to come, but we told him not to. He would only make things worse after he rejected Caroline at the funeral.” Klaus instantly hated him for breaking his queen’s heart. Especially on the same day as the funeral. At that moment, he wanted to kill his old friend, but he needed to find her first. He owed it to her to put her first. Then Enzo interrupted, pulling him out of his trance.  
“When she came, we briefly conversed with her but mate, it seems that she’s gone. There was no spark of humanity left in her when we saw her, it’s going to be hard to get her back.”


	5. A Ripper in me

She was out clubbing in New Orleans, attracting the men with her with the devilish smile and short tank top and tight jeans she was wearing. Caroline drained every single one of the 10 people she took to the alley with her, and she didn’t feel guilty in the slightest. That little voice that usually piped up telling her to stop never showed and she was having the time of her life without noticing the figure at the back.

After compelling another batch of the ones she didn’t drain to forget everything and cleaning herself up, she went to Rousseau’s, high on blood.  
That pest of a bartender was still there, and because Caroline was in a mischievous mood, she walked up to her and initiated the conversation, in a drunken state.  
“Carol, can you get me some…um.. water. No shots actually. Get me those and your best drink.”  
“It’s Cami actually.” So she’s testing the waters, thought Caroline.  
“Yeah whatever, just get me what I asked for. Oh, and if you call Klaus, I will kill you or hurt someone you love. Wait, don’t you love Klaus, the person who said that he will be my last love? Can’t believe he’d ever go for someone like you, for starters, look at the way you dress. He certainly lost his taste since our last hook up.” Caroline was laughing, the excruciating look of pain on Cami’s face only amplifying her need to laugh and brag.  
Once Caroline recovered, she said teasingly,” go get it, love.”  
Camille walked off, tears in her eyes but she refused to respond to any sort of drama with Caroline and returned with the drinks, which was actually water.  
Caroline took one sip when she realized it was water.  
“God, you’re so annoying.” Caroline was about to approach Camille when suddenly, her world went black.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Caroline was still resting in the confines of her room, Klaus gathered the family as well as Bonnie and Enzo to discuss the plans. They agreed that Klaus should confront her and try to push for humanity to come back on, and if didn’t succeed, then Bonnie should come in.  
While they were discussing, Josh who was Marcel’s friend and informer entered the compound in urgency.  
“Marcel? Klaus? Anyone?”  
“In the study Josh!” Josh used his vamp speed to enter the study.  
“Marcel, there’s something you need to know.” Klaus’ focus shifted from nursing his drink to Josh who was frantic.  
“Calm down Josh, what is it?”  
“10 people, I mean humans, were drained of blood and died outside the club. The other bunch of them that survived were compelled to forget.”  
Bonnie gasped in horror as she realized what he was implying.  
“No, she wouldn’t do that,” Bonnie said. But who was she kidding? She knew she was lying. Stefan was right, if Caroline wouldn’t be stopped then she would kill and murder, and they wouldn’t have any hope of switching her humanity back on. Bonnie shuddered just thinking about it.  
Klaus stood up, worry flooding his face. He put the drink down on the table and said, “I will go to Caroline. It has to be done, preferably now.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caroline jolted awake, unaware of her surroundings for a few seconds. As she started to grasp where she was, the anger flooded back and her neck was sore.  
She would make whoever snapped her neck pay and if bloodshed was the way to go, then so be it.

Once she got dressed, she raced to the bedroom door and opened it. As she did, Klaus made an appearance. Finally, her opportunity to confront him about snapping her neck arrived.  
“Easy, love. You know I’d never hurt you.” She knew he had repeated the phrase on purpose.  
“Give up already Klaus. My humanity is long gone and I mean it.” She retreated into her bedroom, finding something to do to avoid looking at him. Instead of reacting, Klaus decided to allow her to express her rage.  
“Let it out, Caroline. Say everything you need to.” Caroline cackled.  
“I have nothing to say. Oh wait a sec…” she began as Klaus was gazing at her suspiciously, thinking that she would say something useful, but she didn’t.  
“I’m hungry, so I think I’m going to get myself a snack. The bartender seems lovely, maybe I’ll go with her.” Klaus stopped her in her tracks by pushing her against the wall angrily. Caroline just rolled her eyes and didn’t bother defying him.  
“You’re not going anywhere love.”  
“And why not?”  
“I’m going to personally get your humanity back, one way or another sweetheart.” Caroline changed her strategy as she did with Elena, and she used a very similar technique too.  
“I know you will Klaus,” she said, and then leaned forward to kiss him, which took Klaus by surprise. But he was barely aware of it as she snapped his neck and ran after saying, “But I can’t let you do that.” 

Caroline, having bought herself time to run, was about to flee the entrance when her two hybrid guards came forward to stop her. She lured them in seductively and proceeded to snap their necks, finally taking off quietly.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
After a half-hour, Hayley, who sat in the room with Elijah and the rest, decided to break the deafening silence.  
“I don’t hear any crying, or speaking for that matter.”  
“Maybe they used sage?” suggested Enzo.  
“Highly unlikely, Nik never uses sage.” Elijah then cut in.  
“We should intervene now. I fear something bad has happened.” As they all stood up ready to leave, they heard a piercing and raging scream.  
“REBEKAH!ELIJAH!”  
The Mikaelson siblings ran to the courtyard.  
“WHERE IS SHE?” His eyes had the glowing hybrid color as he was yelling.  
“Niklaus, calm yourself.” Elijah adjusted his suit as he said this. After pacing back and forth, Klaus calmed himself but still remained tense, his jaw clenched.  
“What happened Klaus?” questioned Marcel. Klaus struggled to formulate proper words through his raging anger but after a few seconds, he managed to collect himself.  
“We were talking and she snapped my neck after deceiving me.” As he sighed and started pacing which was a typical Caroline habit, he caught sight of her two hybrids passed out on the floor and his anger rose once again.  
Caroline put her sunglasses on as she entered Rousseau’s, her hair styled as she had it at her mom’s funeral.  
She looked around for Camille carefully as to avoid being ratted out once again and proceeded with her devious plan, the first step being to approach a bartender and ask for Cami’s address. Her eyes cautiously scanned the room to look for a manager. There he was.  
She strutted over to the bar, taking a seat in front of him.”  
“Hi there, what can I do for you?”  
“Is Cami here? She’s my best friend and I need to give her back some stuff.”  
“Unfortunately, she’s not but I can call her if you want.”  
“No thanks, I already tried but I figured she was busy at work. However, an address would be lovely.” When the compulsion was set in stone (including making him forget she was here and making sure he wouldn’t alert Cami), he gave it to her, polite as ever.  
“Thank you.”

As she navigated around the streets of New Orleans cautiously, she noticed, on multiple occasions, her friends and the Mikaelsons looking for her, but successfully hid from their gaze.  
Caroline knocked gently and the door was opened within seconds.  
Cami wasn’t given a chance to reply as Caroline pinned her against a wall with one hand, strangling her effortlessly.  
As Cami tried to regain her even breathing, Caroline told her what she wanted.  
“You’re going to let me stay here for however long I want. If you retaliate, I will kill your cousin, your only cousin left as well. It would be such a shame if you lost your last living member of your family.” Caroline pouted and pretended to look sad but broke into laughter, which infuriated the worried bartender.  
“Fine,” she grunted, “But Klaus will find me and he’ll find you.”  
“Oh Camille, he really won’t.” Caroline sighed and walked off to the kitchen, dragging the woman with her.

After a brief conversation, Caroline tied Camille to a chair, both legs and hands and she waited for the rest of the vervain to leave her system before compelling her a few hours later.  
“Now the vervain left your system, you’re going to listen. First, you’re going to ditch your job and tell them that you found something else. If Klaus or anyone asks about me, you’ll say you don’t know.” As she strolled around the quaint, dainty apartment, she thought of another thing to compel Cami for.  
“Oh and by the way, I’m your roommate Chloe, you’ve never heard of a girl called Caroline.” When she was done, she gave the girl her daily vervain so no one else could compel her, and then she untied her.


	6. A Change in her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter! It was slightly harder to write but I enjoyed it :)

Josh was at Rousseau’s a few weeks later, nursing his drink and chatting to Marcel, both taking a break from the havoc in New Orleans.  
Having observed that Cami was once again nowhere to be found, he decided to speak to Marcel about it.

“Marcel, I haven’t seen Cami here in weeks. Something’s definitely weird here.”   
“Yeah, that does seem strange, but probably nothing to worry about though.” Josh wasn’t comforted by this, so he told Marcel that he’d ask one of the other bartenders that worked the same shifts as her.  
“Hi, how can I help you guys?”  
“We were wondering if you’ve seen our friend called Cami. She works here and she hasn’t shown up in a while. We’re kinda worried about her.”  
“Oh, she quit a few weeks ago, apparently she found a better job.”  
The two gave each other looks as Marcel shifted uncomfortably in his seat.   
After they thanked the human, they took off with their next destination in mind.  
Klaus was in the dining room with the others, glaring into the maps to see where she could be when Marcel called out.  
“Bekah.”  
“In here,” she said, worry starting to build up between the group.  
When the two vampires joined them, Klaus finally looked up, glaring daggers at them through his eyes.  
“Easy there Klaus, we think we found something.” The whole group silenced as they turned to look at Josh.  
“It’s kinda funny that none of you noticed Cami disappearing.”  
“Yes well none of us have the time to pop into Rousseau’s for a drink have we?” exclaimed Rebekah as Marcel tried to calm her.  
“Get to it, Joshua. I don’t have all day,” said an impatient Klaus.  
“Right well, I noticed that Cami wasn’t working there anymore after a few weeks and get this, apparently she changed jobs, to a better one.”  
Klaus was now intrigued, while Elijah and the others visibly struggling to make connections.  
“Why would she randomly leave her job? Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t she supposed to show up to your Therapy session Klaus?” enquired Hayley.  
“She must have been compelled to ditch her job,” said Enzo as everyone fully understood. After a few seconds of brief silence, Bonnie came up with a new question, one that many of the group wanted to ask too.  
“How is any of this related to Caroline and if she did this, then why?” Bonnie asked. Marcel stepped forward, ready to announce what he came up with.  
“We have a plan and I think it will help.”

Once everything was set in motion and Klaus sent a text to Camille, the family went over the plan once more before Klaus departed hastily.  
He put them on the phone while they muted themselves in order to listen in on his conversation with Camille right before she arrived.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Ever since her mysterious friend Chloe arrived, Cami was very doubtful and hyperaware of everything. Little things just didn’t add up. Cami took it upon herself to talk to the one person that she knew she could trust. As she was about to text Klaus to ask him, he texted her asking to meet. After saying a polite goodbye to her roommate Chloe, she set off. She somehow managed to excuse herself by saying that she was going to meet a friend and Chloe begrudgingly accepted that poor excuse.

Klaus was standing outside the bar as Camille approached him.  
“Camille, I must say, it is nice to see you again.” Cami had a small smile on her face as she replied.  
“It is. But Klaus, we have to talk.”  
“Yes I know, but do let me say what I need to say.” He pulled out a picture on his phone, ready for if she failed to ask his question.  
“Cami, do you know where Caroline is?”  
“No, I don’t. Sorry. Who’s Caroline?” Knowing how devious and cunning Caroline was without her humanity, he pulled out a picture of her, his Caroline, and showed it to Camille, picking up on her instant confusion.  
“Why do you have a picture of my roommate Chloe?” Bingo. Caroline was with Camille, compelling the poor girl to forget and say different things.  
“That’s Caroline. She compelled you for many things so that she could avoid turning her humanity on. I do apologize if your memory has been blurry.”  
Camille’s face morphed into one of horror as she realized.  
“Please just…. get her out. I don’t want to be compelled, Klaus. You of all people should know that.” After that, they walked back peacefully while Klaus listened to all that Camille had to share, promising her to take Caroline back.

Once they arrived at the compound, Klaus assembled the group and they moved over to the study. Once they all established the basic information, they formulated their second plan of the day.   
This process involved a couple of hour’s worth of bickering but they agreed on something at last and parted their separate ways, leaving Klaus, Cami, Marcel, and Rebekah, all of whom would go and bring Caroline back.

Camille opened the door with her keys, smiling as if she didn’t discover anything new in the last few hours.  
“Liar. I totally knew you were going to meet a “friend.” Caroline giggled as she had a jump in her walk.  
“Yeah, about that, I am really sorry,” Cami said as she stepped forward to hug her while Klaus got behind Caroline, “And I’m sorry about this too.”  
Caroline’s facial expression immediately changed from happy to confused.  
“What-“ Then her neck snapped and she collapsed into familiar, strong arms as her world became black.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Once Caroline was safely guarded in Klaus’s room with Rebekah on watch, the others were in the study once again eagerly waiting to know what would happen next. Elijah was trying to speak to Klaus with a passionately angry Bonnie trying to get her to say in the situation. Enzo was fairly calm and trying to soothe Bonnie.  
They eventually decided to have dinner after Bonnie placed a boundary spell, and Rebekah joined them.

They were all starting to relax and joke with each other when a furious Caroline came down, walking past them without so much as a word, while the others looked at her blankly.   
“I much preferred you when you weren’t a mute,” said Rebekah as she reached for her glass of wine. Instead of reacting, Caroline continued walking back to her room, purposefully slowly just to irritate the others.  
“Come now Caroline, surely you want to join us for a meal?” Klaus smirked, as usual, to play along with this ridiculous game she was playing. Meanwhile, she turned around and fixated her malicious gaze on Cami.   
“Maybe I will.” Hayley was looking at her with suspicion written on her face while the others were calm, even though there was an awkward silence between them all.  
What took everyone aback was when Caroline came behind Camille and purposefully dropped her phone. As she reached down for it, she bit Cami’s neck and even allowed herself to drink from it before grabbing her phone and heading back up. She smiled at them cunningly, proud of what she had done while she could see the look of shock and horror on her friends’ faces, while the Mikaelson siblings were bickering and screaming. She decided to see what Klaus was doing and whether Cami drank from his wrist and apparently she did. It only made Caroline seem envious because that was her thing with Klaus.

After a while, she stood on her balcony, happy at what she accomplished. That was until Klaus barged in.  
“Caroline, enough is enough.” His voice was stern and he was clearly getting annoyed. Good, she thought.   
“Is it? I had a lot of fun almost draining your girlfriend dry.”  
Klaus took this as a chance to confront Caroline and he would use jealousy to do it after his first tactic.  
“It has been 5 months Caroline. The longer you keep it off, the more pain you will have to endure when you turn it back on.” Caroline looked at him directly.  
“I don’t care.”  
“Come now, love. We both know that’s not true. You seemed to be jealous when I fed Camille from my wrist. Let’s not forget about Rousseau’s.”  
“Stop.” She was becoming bitter now.  
“Or how did it feel when you saw Hayley with my daughter?” He knew he was provoking her and she would hate him for it now, but he had forever with her. He would make sure she stayed with him once he got her.  
“Stop!” Caroline looked at him with anger in her eyes. Klaus was succeeding and she knew it.  
“Caroline-“  
“What?What, Klaus?” He came forward to her, taking her hands in his.  
“Close your eyes.” This was his very last chance.

Caroline opened her eyes and found that she was in her living room, torrential rain outside. As she looked around the room she saw her mom. Mommy.   
“Mom!” she cried out, in the hopes that she would look at her.”Mommy!” Liz kept walking away from her as if she couldn't hear her. Caroline kept crying out until she eventually caught up to her, grabbing her hand.  
Liz reluctantly turned around with a look of disgust.  
“You aren’t my Caroline. You’re nothing but a monster.”  
“Mommy! No that’s not true, I’m still your daughter, I’m Caroline, remember?” Caroline had tears flowing down her cheeks now.  
“You’re a monster.”  
Liz scoffed." My daughter would never kill people and enjoy it. My Caroline didn't eat blood at all. She was not a monster like you."  
"Mommy! I'm not a monster. I promise you!"  
"Sure. But you are not my Caroline. Your father and I couldn't be more disappointed in you."  
"Mommy, no, Mommy!" But it was too late. Liz was walking away and she was fading out of this world.  
She opened her eyes, now withdrawn from the dream. Her face morphed from confusion to hurt, pain and agony. Her humanity was on.


	7. And then she came undone...

She didn’t know where to look. The tears were spilling and she was about to burst. Klaus wanted to hold her, cradle his love in his arms and comfort her, but he decided to wait for her reaction. After a few seconds of shuddering and slow aching tears falling, she started to speak.  
“I’m a monster.” He looked up, straight into her eyes.  
“I’m a monster,” she blurted, after trying to contain all her flooding emotions.  
“And she hates me, my mom hates me.” She let her guard fall and she burst out crying, almost collapsing to the floor in physical pain had it not been for Klaus’s steady arms, offering the comfort that she desperately needed. He brought her into his embrace, soothing her by stroking her hair and kissing her head when he could.

They stayed like that for hours, her crying and allowing her fleeting emotions to escape, while Klaus comforted her in the best way he could. It seemed to be exactly what Caroline needed. When she eventually found a decent enough sleep, he decided to go fetch her a blood bag, but as he got up to leave the bed, Caroline began to speak with a hoarse, croaky voice that was full of vulnerability.  
“Stay with me.” Klaus leaned down to give her a tender kiss on her head as he explained.  
“I’m just going to get a blood bag for you, sweetheart, and I promise I will come back swiftly.” 

That didn’t seem to stop Caroline from crying though. This time it was about her mom dying and the pain it brought her.  
When he returned he found her cradling herself, tears spilling everywhere.  
He put the blood bag down and didn’t hesitate to take her in his arms, and soothe her again.  
“She hates me. I’m a monster. I let her down and I… I should have kept it on… because she deserved t-that.” Klaus needed to interject because it hurt him to see his queen like that and she needed to know it wasn’t her fault.  
“Caroline, she doesn’t hate you. She loves you sweetheart and she knows you’re not a monster, love. I’m a monster, but you, love, are full of light, and that is one of the many reasons why I fancy you.” She looked up at him, a vulnerability in her eyes, and allowed herself to smile slightly as she remembered the words he said to her at the ball. He gave her a light kiss on her forehead before continuing.  
“I won’t leave you or abandon you and despite what you may think, you are strong love. You will get through this and your mother would be so proud of you sweetheart. Try to rest and you can drink some blood in the morning.”

On that same night, she was haunted by nightmares that wouldn’t leave her alone. It started off with her mom ignoring her and calling her a monster but then it was a flashback of memories from when she turned off her humanity. She killed, drank, drained, and compelled. With that, her eyes flinched open and a new batch of tears began to fall so she left the bed and walked over to the balcony. Caroline allowed herself to refresh all these memories from the moment she snapped Elena’s neck to the moment she drank from Camille and looked up at the sky trying to calm herself down but it didn’t work because she began to hyperventilate.  
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” She silently repeated this to herself whilst trying to control her uneven breathing. Now she was crying because of her mom and because of the damage she had caused to every one of her friends and the Mikaelsons.  
“I’m a monster,” said Caroline, shaking her head in dismay as she began to believe what she said. Caroline was about to cover her face with her hands when Klaus pulled her hands away and held them.  
“Come here, sweetheart.”  
“I can’t believe I did that.”  
“What do you mean, love?” Her eyes were shiny, water streaks left on her face.  
“I mean, how could I kill people and compel them and…and I... I bit Cami, oh my god, and I compelled her.”  
“Sweetheart, that wasn’t you.”  
“Yeah, but it was. I remember doing some of those things because I was jealous and I- it reminded me of the insecure neurotic human Caroline who was shallow and-”  
“You don’t need to be jealous, love. Camille and I- while we may have started to like each other- I still fancied you. And sweetheart, I do intend on keeping my promise to you.” Caroline sniffled a bit as Klaus continued.  
“As for you talking badly about yourself, that may have been you in the past but I don’t see any of what you’re describing in the girl in front of me. Caroline, you’re beautiful, strong, and full of light.” Once again, a tiny smile found its way onto Caroline’s face.

Once they made it back to bed, Caroline decided to silently thank him.  
“Thank you, Klaus, for helping me through it and for putting up with me, even when I didn’t have my humanity.” Klaus looked at her with pure admiration in his eyes. She was healing, slowly but surely.  
“Anything for you, sweetheart." Then Caroline pushed herself up and gave Klaus a peck on his cheek which only made his smile grow.  
"Goodnight Klaus."  
"Goodnight, love. Try to get some rest," and the baby vampire fell asleep in his arms, feeling protected and secure.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The next morning the usual group members were downstairs in the lounge, chatting away and Bonnie was even talking to Hayley as they observed Hope walking towards Aunt Bekah. Klaus had left to deal with some crisis with Marcel and Elijah while Enzo decided to contact the Mystic Falls gang elsewhere, so it was just a girl's morning, which felt good.  
Caroline entered the lounge, makeup on and she wore a nice dress with her usual denim jacket. The girls stopped to look at her, surprised at how good she looked considering the circumstances. Hayley gathered Hope in her arms, while Rebekah and Bonnie approached Caroline first.

"Care! You're back!!! I'm so happy," exclaimed Bonnie who was nearly on the verge of crying. Caroline responded with as warm a hug as she could muster, but she still felt down.  
"Yeah, I'm back to me again." Rebekah then hugged Caroline which was quite strange considering their up and down friendship, but Caroline chose to embrace it. Bonnie and Rebekah exchange a look before Bonnie confronted her about it.  
"Talk to us Care." That's exactly what Caroline did. She just told them about how bad she felt, the guilt, and the pain. After a couple of hours, Bonnie and Caroline were in tears while Rebekah got emotional. She was doing well when it came to dodging questions about Klaus, but she secretly knew it was too good to be true.  
Rebekah cleansed her face and returned looking more like Rebekah.  
"So Caroline, my brother has spent a whole day with you. What's going on there?"  
"Rebekah!" said Bonnie as she tried to help cover Caroline weakly.  
"He's helped me ever since he got me to turn it back on Rebekah. That's all."  
"Well, he was in a good mood this morning so you must have done something..." Bonnie sided with Rebekah, her curiosity now growing.  
"Nothing!Seriously guys," said Caroline in disbelief, but Bonnie knew.  
"Caroline Forbes, you are lying!"  
"Nothing seriously!!! I may have just given him a kiss on the cheek to thank him but that was all." Caroline rolled her eyes but Rebekah and Bonnie jumped on this. Bonnie being Bonnie decided to be sensible.  
"Look Care, I want you to be happy but just think about what he's done to our friends." Caroline was about to contest that when Rebekah chimed in.  
"Oh give it up little witch, the only time I've seen Nik come home with a proper smile was when he saw you. Oh, and I won't forget that time where we went to Mystic Falls to save Matt. When we walked back, he was simply radiant and happy with himself." Caroline tried to fight the red in her cheeks, but it wasn't very successful.  
"Caroline Forbes!" Caroline looked at Bonnie, worried to see if she would judge her, but it was quite the opposite. Bonnie was teasing and laughing alongside Rebekah and she felt relieved. At least one of her friends semi-approved.

After a few hours of gossiping, Hayley finally entered the room. They all looked up and their smiles faded.  
"Hey Caroline," started Hayley.  
"Um.. hey Hayley." Rebekah rolled her eyes in annoyance as she was enjoying the gossip session while Bonnie sat there awkwardly, not sure what to do.  
"How are you, you know, since you turned it back on?" Caroline made a mental note of the effort Hayley was trying to make. Was that because of Klaus? She couldn't help but wonder.  
"I'm ok, thanks, Hayley." Then Hayley retreated back into the kitchen while the girls started up their chatter once more.  
Enzo came back first, picking up Bonnie and swirling her around, giving her a short but passionate kiss while Marcel also kissed Rebekah and whisked her away to their room. The two brothers returned an hour later, Klaus covered in blood as usual, while Elijah used his pocket tissue to wipe his mouth clean from the remaining blood.

Dinner was set to be in an hour once everyone cleaned up so after Klaus sorted himself out, he went into Caroline's room to see her standing on her balcony once again, starting into the life of New Orleans. When he set foot outside, he could see her wiping some of her tears away and quietly sniffling.  
"Hello, love." Caroline turned around, attempting to smile at Klaus.  
"Hey," she whispered as he came closer to her, resting his hand on the small of her back. Surprising both herself and Klaus, she let herself lean into the touch. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke up.  
"It's so beautiful here."  
"Yes, it is. And if I may say so myself, much better than the dilapidated Mystic Falls." Both of them light-heartedly chucked at this.  
"Well I was the chair of the Mystic Falls beautification committee and I think that they were lucky to have me decorating the town." Klaus smiled and looked at her.  
"The only thing remotely beautiful in the town was you, love." Caroline rolled her eyes and laughed, which made Klaus happy. Her laugh filled his ears and made his day and he would gladly take any opportunity to hear it. He missed her laughs and her genuine smile.  
"Seriously?" she said jokingly until she continued.  
" I don't get it. Out of all the girls out there, you pick me. Why? I'm just a neurotic baby vampire that everyone hates." It took everything in Klaus for him not to get angry at the way she was downplaying herself.  
"You really don't give yourself enough credit Caroline. Anyone would be a fool not to notice you. You're gorgeous, strong-willed, and intelligent. But you're also strong. Much stronger than that useless doppelganger and all of the Mystic Falls friends. Regardless of if you ever chose to stay here in New Orleans with me, you deserve better and I hope you know that love." Now facing Klaus, she looked at him in disbelief.  
"But why me? I'm always the second choice and no one ever picks me or likes me. They all think I'm a headache, shallow and crazy and I just-" Klaus cut her off by kissing her, trying to express his love for her within the act. While she may have been surprised at first, it didn't take long for her to kiss him back and she knew in that instant that she was falling in love with him.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Everyone seemed to take their time in the hour that they had to get ready. Hayley and Elijah descended down the stairs, hand in hand as Rebekah and Marcel were comfortable resting on the sofa as Enzo and Klaus were mysteriously chatting and glancing over at the witch and a baby vampire who were both engaging in a short conversation.  
As the witch was about to stand up, Enzo carried her in his arms and spun her around before carrying her and putting her down on the table while Klaus went over to Caroline and reached out for her hand which she gave to him happily.

Once they were all sat at the table, including little Hope, Caroline observed that there was one seat left empty.  
"Is someone else supposed to be coming?" enquired Caroline as she thought about who it could be. But it wasn't long until she figured it out.  
Camille walked towards the group, fully aware of Caroline's presence.  
"Hey, guys." She gave them all a smile and her eyes skipped over Caroline intentionally.  
"Cami I-" Caroline started, ready to apologize. Unfortunately, she wasn't given the chance because she was brutally cut off by the other woman.  
"Save it, Caroline. I'm not interested. You're a monster." Caroline felt her eyes burn up as her eyes started to become glossy while Rebekah, Bonnie, and Klaus shot her horrible looks.  
"Oh stop with the looks. Humanity on or not, she knew what she was doing. And I'll never forgive her for that because she's nothing short of a monster." Klaus interjected.  
"Camille, I advise that you tread lightly and pick your words very carefully." After the hassle, Camille gave up and sat down, but Caroline on the other hand felt herself about to cry. The tension in the air was excruciatingly painful as all of them sat in silence, eating. Klaus was sitting next to Caroline and tried to hold her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze when he felt her shake.However, Caroline couldn't bear it. The tears started to fall down her makeup covered cheeks and didn't even bother giving a reason as to why she left abruptly.


	8. It's not home without them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot of stuff happens here, Klaroline progress in their relationship, and Bonnie and Caroline kinda have deep-ish conversations which were fun to include. Also, the Mystic Falls Gang finally make an appearance :)

When she entered the room, she didn’t hesitate to lock the door and dash over to the bathroom and since she wanted to avoid anyone listening in, she put the tap on to make them think she was washing when in reality, she sobbed. Everyone knew that she was a monster and no one until Camille dared to say it. That was the first of many thoughts to come on repeat.  
Caroline was crying about Camille at first but it faded as she moved on to think of heartless Caroline, killing and draining and compelling people. The flashbacks flooded her eyes, but this time, she could hear the screams and see the fear on her victims’ faces.   
The repeating loop of horror would always end with the ceaseless pain of losing her mom, who would be beyond mortified at her actions. 

After few hours of being lost in her own train of thought, she mustered the strength to get up and take a shower while there was an incessant pounding on her door which she was completely unaware of. When she was refreshed, she left the shower and sorted herself out, ready to hop into bed while an eerie silence filled the compound. Caroline put her slippers off and finally left her room to fetch a blood bag from downstairs. To her surprise, Bonnie was there in the kitchen, staring into space.  
“Bonnie, what are you doing awake?”  
“Oh, hey Care. I just couldn’t go to sleep with everything going on.”  
“Bonnie-“  
“Care. Please just let me talk.” Bonnie paused as she took a sip of water.  
“You don’t have to be strong for anyone Care. You lost your mom, and I did too, remember?” Caroline nodded and waited for Bonnie to continue.  
“While you had that option to leave your humanity off, I didn’t. I had to go through it the hard way like you’re doing now- except for you, it’s much worse.”  
‘How’s that supposed to make me feel better Bon?” questioned Caroline.  
“Listen. Your mom doesn’t hate you, even if you think she does. She loves and loved you and accepted you for who you are. I think she would be proud that you turned it back in a few months.” Bonnie reached out to hold her best friend’s hands and it felt comforting, for both of them.  
“It isn’t going to be easy to heal Caroline, it was very difficult for me and Elena. But the pain will ease off eventually. We all love you Care and I know that he loves you too.” Caroline looked at Bonnie in the eye.  
“Yes, he’s the great evil hybrid that slaughtered and killed lots of people and I don’t like him, but I can see how much he loves you and how much he wants to help you. Care, I never thought I would ever say this but if you love him then go for it, but I will hurt him with my witchy woo powers if he hurts you.” That made Caroline laugh and smile as she felt the closest she has ever felt to her best friend.  
“I love you, Bonnie Bennett.”  
“Me too, Caroline Forbes, me too.” After that, they went upstairs and gave each other a hug goodnight as they parted their separate ways. 

She woke up during the night at 2 am, in a restless state after tossing and turning. Half asleep, she got up and put her fluffy slippers on and before she knew what she was doing, Caroline went to Klaus’ room. Once she arrived, she was unsure of what to do, asking herself if she should knock or go in, because either way, he would hear her. Either way, she gathered her courage to enter the room and paused as she wasn’t sure if Klaus was sleeping. Once she took off her slippers, she hopped into bed and apologized for disturbing him and coming in.  
He woke up fully and pulled her into his warm embrace, giving her a light kiss on her head.  
“Don’t apologize love. Sleep and we can talk about everything tomorrow if you’d like,” he said while gently soothing her.   
Both of them eventually slept, although Caroline fell into a deeper sleep because of how emotionally drained she was.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Stefan was sitting on the sofa as they received the call about Caroline from Enzo.  
“We should go,” he said to them as Damon twisted a strand of Elena’s hair, and he couldn’t help but be slightly jealous as he watched them be affectionate with each other. Elena stood up and decided to walk over by Stefan.  
“Why? Enzo said they’re all taking care of Blondie so it’s fine…” Damon said as he took another sip of his bourbon.  
“Yeah, but I know her, and I know she’s not fine.”  
“Maybe we should go, Damon. I agree with Stefan.” Damon lifted his hands at that, surrendering to them and they all came up with a plan that they would leave in few days once their own problems were sorted. Stefan was impatient, worrying about Caroline while the other two seemed to be fairly laid back, wrapped up in their own orbit. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the brothers, Elena and Matt gathered their belongings which were packed just in case they’d need to stay in New Orleans overnight. They all agreed to leave on Wednesday and Damon called Enzo to inform him.  
“Hey, Enzo.”  
“Damon, I assume you’re calling for an update on Caroline,” Enzo started but Damon was quick to reply.  
“No, just wanted to let you know we’re heading to New Orleans to bring Caroline and you two back home.” Damon could sense some muffling and movement in the background.  
“Problem?” Damon harshly whispered into the phone only to be answered by the devil himself.  
“Hello Damon, I thought you would have come to New Orleans to rescue Caroline from my “wrath” sooner.” Damon scowled.  
“This isn’t for me, it’s for Elena and Stefan. I really don’t care about Blondie.” It was Klaus’s turn to scowl as he once again acknowledged how little her so-called friends cared for Caroline.  
“When can we expect you to delight us with your presence?”  
“We’ll see you Tuesday.” With that, Damon hung up.

Elena was downstairs, detached from Damon’s hip for once. Stefan sat on the couch with a drink of the notorious Salvatore bourbon in his hand.  
“Do you think we should call Tyler and bring him along?” Elena wondered as she was deep in thought.  
“Why would that help her Elena?”  
“Because,” she said, words struggling to come out of her mouth,” she loved him and he still loves her.” Stefan couldn’t help but sigh as he approached Elena.  
“Elena, you’re asking for trouble. We’re already going onto Mikaelson territory and the last thing we want to do is make the King of New Orleans mad,” Stefan exclaimed.   
“Yeah but l-”  
“No, Elena.” Damon entered the living area, nursing his drink.  
“Fine. But are we sure that Matt should come?” She walked towards Damon and allowed her hand to intertwine with his. As they shared this sweet gesture, they failed to notice the residue of pain on Stefan’s face which quickly faded when Damon looked up and spoke.  
“Donovan will be fine. Besides, he’s probably the only one that she actually likes out of all of us.”

The next day, the aforementioned figure showed up unexpectedly with Matt beside him.  
“Matt filled me in. Let’s go get her.” Stefan nodded while the rest barely acknowledged him. All of the crew made sure everything was in place and departed swiftly.  
“New Orleans, here we come…” Elena said, secretly wishing that nothing happened between Klaus and Caroline.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
After her first proper night of sleep, Caroline woke up to hear the usual commotion downstairs and went to investigate it after dressing herself nicely.  
“Ugh, seriously can you tone it down with all the yelling!” Caroline whispered harshly. Hayley and Enzo greeted her politely before deciding to leave the chaos while Bonnie gave her a small smile.  
“Good morning, love.” Klaus wore one of his usual smirks today which made Caroline wanted to smack it off his face and kiss him at the same time.  
“Care to fill me in on what this is all about?”  
“You of course.” Rebekah sneered, with her normal bitchy attitude.  
“Easy Bekah,” Marcel interjected as he reached out for her hand. Elijah decided to stop the argument by actually responding to Caroline’s question.  
“Miss Forbes, I believe some of your Mystic Falls companions are coming to see you.” Everyone in the room looked at her to see what her reaction would be, but once again, she took them by surprise by laughing.  
“Only now? Wow, I didn’t realize how much the world revolved around the Salvatore-Gilbert loop.” Caroline composed herself quickly while the others didn’t know what to say, but she filled the gap of brief silence instantly.  
“Do we know who’s coming?”  
“According to Enzo, it's Elena, Matt, Stefan, and Damon.” Great, the friendtervention group, thought Caroline as she rolled her eyes which Klaus seemed to pick up on.  
“Anything you’d like to share with us, love?”  
“I’m sorry, but why are all of them coming? Matt and Stefan, I understand, but why Elena? She hasn’t even bothered with anything since I turned it on again and Damon…” She trailed off, almost shuddering as she averted her gaze to anything but the faces of the people around her. Bonnie looked at Caroline with a look of pity but also sorrow and Klaus knew it was more than just about her selfish friends. Something had happened between Caroline and Damon and all that Klaus knew was that he’d tear his limbs out, one by one.  
“They’ll be here on Thursday,” Enzo said, eager to break the cold between the group. Caroline mumbled a weak goodbye before going to get a blood bag while the commotion resumed.

It wasn’t until Wednesday evening where Klaus was alone at the bar, a drink in hand when Caroline approached him, determination written on her face.  
“Does your offer still stand?” She inquired, with some vulnerability but mostly interest in her voice. Once he turned around to face her, Klaus walked over to her, cupping her soft face with his hands.  
“Of course sweetheart. I meant what I said that night at your graduation.” Her eyes focused on his while a soft smile pushed through on her lips.  
“Good,” she said, with a wide smile on her face, and leaned in to kiss Klaus, this time with more urgency. He didn’t fail to respond after he recognized the familiar words of their first intimate moment together., kissing back with the same urgency.   
Once they finally broke their long kiss, Caroline pulled back slightly and began to speak.  
“You still owe me a mini-fridge,” she said, a playful smile residing on both their faces while their foreheads were still touching. Klaus tucked a loose strand of her golden blonde hair behind her ear and moved his thumb along her lips.  
“Of course, love.” He let out a loose, genuine chuckle which filled Caroline’s heart and caused her to lean in for another tender kiss.   
“Ok, seriously, we need to go to dinner.” Caroline broke the kiss and took his hand, ready to go.  
“They can wait, love,” Klaus smirked while Caroline was confused but shortly ended up squealing as Klaus scooped her up and carried her bridal style to his room.

After an hour, Caroline was asleep in Klaus’s arms as he stroked her hair and planted kisses on her head, which tended to get a smile out of her. As they were embracing their intimate moment, a harsh knock was heard at his door.  
“Nik, it’s time for dinner. I’m hungry and tired, so hurry the hell up,” Rebekah exclaimed irritably as she huffed and walked away.  
Caroline started to awaken from her lazy sleep but failed to move at first.  
“Ugh, seriously?” Klaus smirked in amusement as he looked at her start to wake herself up.  
“For someone so eager to go to dinner, you seem entirely displeased to go now. What changed?” Caroline couldn’t help but roll her eyes and scoff in amusement, then proceeding to shake her head.  
“God, you’re so annoying Klaus.”   
After they both got ready, he pinned Caroline to the wall and kissed her forehead once more before taking her hand and walking downstairs, a lingering ‘I love you’ hovering in the air between them.

Hayley held Hope on her lap as Elijah sat next to her, looking at Hayley in admiration while Rebekah and Marcel chatted to Bonnie and Enzo, who looked strangely unsettled.   
When they entered the room, everyone immediately looked up in their direction, focusing on their hands intertwined with each other. Rebekah was, of course, the first one to make an inappropriate remark.  
“Caroline, you simply look radiant!” Rebekah had a scoff on her face as Marcel struggled to hold himself back from laughing at that. The others looked awkwardly, all aware of what happened between the two.  
Elijah decided to express his peaking interest after Rebekah commented while Caroline had to stop herself from blushing and Klaus simply looked amused.  
“Yes, you do seem to be… glowing, Miss Forbes.” Unfortunately for Caroline, her cheeks seemed to give in to the now less than subtle pink blush in her cheeks but she managed to recover swiftly.  
“Seriously Rebekah?” She scoffed as she took her seat beside Klaus’s and Bonnie’s. Hayley, for once, chose to help her by changing the topic.  
“Klaus, Hope has been asking for you.” At that, Klaus scooped his daughter up into his arms and held her.  
“Hello, littlest wolf.” Caroline couldn’t help but admire how Klaus had changed now that he had a daughter. A year ago, had someone told her that Klaus would be a father and that she would be in a relationship with him, she would have laughed and scoffed. Looking at the sight of the two of them made her heart swell and reminded her of her parents, making her tear up slightly.

The rest of dinner flew by as they all conversed and became more comfortable with each other. They eventually left, each to their own but that was after Klaus reminded them all about the plans for the next day.  
Bonnie and Caroline retreated into the living room to chat while Klaus had disappeared with Hope.  
‘So, Care. How are you feeling about tomorrow?”  
“Straight to it, huh?” Bonnie chuckled lightly as Caroline tried to formulate a response.  
“I guess I’m nervous after everything that happened with Elena and Stefan. I’m worried that they’ll think differently of me now.” Bonnie reached out to hold her best friend’s hands.  
“Care, Stefan understands what you went through, and also, you were best friends before you told him about your feelings and all. And I’m sure Elena forgave you for snapping her neck.” Caroline shook her head and sighed.  
“No, it’s not about that. She hates Klaus and I’m worried she’ll hate me for being in a relationship with him, for falling in love with him.” Bonnie unexpectedly didn’t seem judgemental at this point.  
“Care, we all don’t like him. Especially Elena. But Enzo and I, we aren’t blind. Neither is Stefan for that matter. We can all see how he loves you and puts you first and I know that’s what you want. As long as your happy, we’re happy, and don’t let anyone else’s judgment stop you from being happy. But that won’t stop me from hurting him if he ever hurts you.” Caroline smiled after crying from happiness.   
“Than you Bon. I love you.”  
“Yeah, I love you too Caroline Forbes.” Then, the girls exchanged a long, comforting hug before retreating to their own rooms.

Klaus was nowhere to be seen when she entered his room so Caroline decided to go see if he was by Hope. When she arrived, she heard his and Hayley’s voice within the room and she moved closer so that she could try to see them.  
“Will she be alright tomorrow Klaus?” Hayley looked at him with genuine concern in her eyes. He glanced at her before responding.  
“Of course she will, Hayley. If they so much as lay a finger near her, I can assure you, they will face excruciating pain.” Caroline became slightly concerned for her friends but she knew they wouldn’t harm Hope as she would be hidden away. Hayley thanked him and to Caroline’s surprise, Klaus drew her in with one arm around her back while they stared at their child with what she assumes was admiration in their eyes. One perfect little family. The insecure human Caroline came out to play as she thought about this. There was no place for her in New Orleans because there was no place for a stepmother when there was already a content family. A small tear fell on her cheek and she sped away, hoping to go unnoticed while Klaus briefly caught sight of her blonde hair.

When Klaus entered his room, he was relieved to find Caroline there, but she was curled up in a ball and seemed more reserved.  
“Hello, love. Is everything alright?”   
“Yeah, How’s Hope?” Caroline said bitterly. Klaus had known Caroline was watching earlier on as he caught sight of her blonde hair and he managed to come to the conclusion that she must have seen and overheard his interaction with Hayley.  
“Caroline, listen. About tonight-”  
“Stop. Seriously, it’s fine. I get it. You’re part of one perfect little family and that’s just you, Hayley, and Hope. There’s no place for me in it and I get it. Maybe I should go back tomorrow.” Klaus was hurt and angry at this, so he had to interject, but he knew how Caroline felt about herself, so answered softly.  
“Sweetheart, while they are my family, I don’t love Hayley. She is Hope’s mother and so is automatically involved in everything this family does but I love you, Caroline. Not her.” She was in shock. Of course, she knew that he loved her, but he had never said those words out loud.  
“You do?” Caroline questioned, with some vulnerability present in her voice, as if doubting it.  
“Of course I do sweetheart. It would be impossible not to and it’s about time that you stop doubting it.” He sat beside her and cupped her face, staring into her eyes. She smiled brightly and hooked her arms around him.  
“I love you too.” With that, he kissed her tenderly at first which eventually morphed into passionate kisses that reflected his love for her.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The next day, all of the family as well as Bonnie and Enzo were gathered in the courtyard besides Klaus and Caroline who took their sweet time to come down, according to an impatient Rebekah.  
A car had stopped outside the Mikaelson compound and footsteps were heard, becoming louder as they approached the compound.  
Damon and Stefan entered first practically shielding Elena from the Mikaelsons while Matt trailed behind with Tyler.  
Rebekah was shocked to see the Lockwood boy show up and was nervous to see Klaus’s reaction but she smirked as she knew he would be finished.  
“Klaus,” she beckoned,” your visitors are here, including one very feisty one.” Amusement was present in her eyes as she glanced at Tyler who had fury in his own.


	9. A Hybrid's Bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing a new character here! I'm really happy with how it's turning out. To be honest, the turn this story has taken surprised me in a good way :)

Caroline had finished applying her make up when Rebekah had announced her friends’ arrival, wondering who the feisty person was.  
“Is it bad to say that I’m not even excited to see them?” She sighed as Klaus walked over to her, planting another kiss on her head.  
“Not at all, love.” She got up from her seat and quickly gave him a sweet peck on the lips before speaking.  
“Go down, I just need to sort my hair out and I’m coming.” He glanced at her one last time before departing downstairs.

“Caroline! Your friends are here.” Rebekah impatiently waited while she gave them all glares as Marcel sat on the sofa, curious as to who was who and Tyler left to go outside with Matt, trying to cool off. Klaus descended down the stairs first, his smirk reappearing on his face.  
“Hello, Damon.” Then he turned to greet his old friend.  
“I can see that the doppelganger is behind you mate, I’m not here to attack her for her blood, otherwise I would have already done so.” A frown appeared on Damon’s face as Klaus chuckled.  
“Seriously Klaus?” Caroline came to the courtyard, rolling her eyes before she made it by his side.  
“Blondie. Your humanity is back on,” Damon said.  
“Yes, Damon, well done for noticing.” Klaus took note of how cool and sarcastic Caroline was towards Damon, sensing something wasn’t right between the two as she had already brought up his name previously.  
“Hey, Care.” Stefan stepped forward.  
“Let’s go talk. Just you and I and then the rest can come.” Elena couldn’t stand it any longer before she exploded.  
“Does Klaus count as the rest too?” Caroline turned back to face her, anger replacing her once calm face while Klaus rested his hand on top of hers in an attempt to calm her, which didn’t go unnoticed by Stefan and Elena.  
“Seriously? You want to do this now?” Elena had a disgusted judgemental look that gave her the answer.  
“Ok fine. What’s your problem? Ever since you got here, you’ve been giving me that judgemental look. So go on Elena…” Caroline was starting to lose her patience before.  
“Klaus is my problem! You’re acting like you’re in love with each other and you just can’t be in love with him.” Klaus also started to lose his temper and said  
“I would choose your next words wisely, doppelganger.” Klaus was raging now.  
Damon and Stefan were ready to defend her honor as usual, when Caroline interrupted.  
“Why can’t I love him, Elena? He’s been nothing but good to me, even when my humanity was off. He was the one to bring my humanity back. So hide your judgment.” Elena struggles for words until her face changes to a downright furious expression.  
“He tortured me and used me as a human blood bag.” No one expected Caroline to laugh hysterically.  
“I’m sorry Elena. Is that all?” They all looked at Caroline, confusion written across each of their faces but Klaus’. He looked determined to find out where this was going because when Caroline laughed like that, he knew someone did something to infuriate her.  
“Should we talk about your boyfriend Damon here?” She glared at Elena who had to look away while Stefan looked down and Damon squirmed.  
“Didn’t think so… and that also proves my point. You’re dating someone who tortured me, so why can’t I be allowed to do the same? I would hardly call what Klaus did to you as torture in comparison to what I went through.”  
By the time she finished, Klaus’s hand was wrapped around Damon’s neck, squeezing it so it would almost stop Damon from breathing.  
“Whatever you did to Caroline, you’re going to pay for it, mate.” Klaus practically spat the sentence out as Elena shrieked out of fear while Stefan restrained her in order to calm her down.  
“EVERYONE STOP!” Bonnie used her magical powers to split Klaus and Damon up before continuing. “Caroline and Stefan, go talk. I’ll deal with the rest,” and that was all there was to it.

Caroline led Stefan to the study and as she did, Stefan couldn’t help but observe how at home she felt.  
Once they sat, wine with blood in hand, Caroline ended up initiating the conversation.  
“Stefan, just let me speak!” Stefan silenced himself and sat back, allowing her to say everything she wanted to.  
“When you rejected me, that only amplified my pain. It didn’t cause me to turn my humanity off, that wasn’t your fault. I just thought I couldn’t handle the pain so I turned it off. It was all good and well until I was brought here by Rebekah after staying in New York. When I spent time with Klaus, he managed to bring out glimmers of humanity in me until two weeks ago, when I finally cracked. Ever since then, he’s been helping me through the pain, and I…I love him.” Stefan flinched away at this, turning his head away until Caroline continued.  
“I love you Stefan like I love Bonnie or Matt, and yes, maybe I had feelings for you before, but you rejected me and it was painful, so those feelings stopped when I lost my humanity. And I know that you’re probably upset with me so…”  
“Care, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to reject you, I just didn’t want to say what I felt until after the funeral, and I understand that you don’t feel the same way now. Just know that I’m not upset with you, but with me. It hurts that I couldn’t be there for you to help bring your humanity back but I’m just glad you’re back and you’re healing, even if it’s Klaus that helped. We’re best friends and honestly, regardless of Elena, I just want you to be happy.”  
“Ugh Stefan, stop, you’re going to make me cry,” said Caroline as she was laughing with tears dripping down her face and Stefan was laughing as well, happy to have made up with his best friend.  
They hugged each other and decided to go out and face the chaos outside together.

As they left the study, they heard the crashing of vases and bottles of whiskey and bourbon. With a look of concern the duo shared, they walked onto the battleground where the war took place between Klaus and Damon.  
“What did you do to her, mate?” He was growling now, at Damon’s throat while Elena was yelling at Bonnie and The Mikaelsons to do something.  
“Aren’t you going to do something? Bonnie!” Elena yelled while Damon tried to breathe. Bonnie shook her head and sighed before responding.  
“No, Elena. He deserves pain, torture. For God’s sake, think about Care for once! You’re so selfish.” Enzo took her hand and squeezed it in an attempt to relax her, even though he himself agreed with Bonnie.  
“Bonnie, Care, I-”  
“Save it, Elena,” Caroline argued, clasping her hands together.  
“If everyone could just remain calm. I think we should discuss everything tomorrow, once-“ Elijah began. But Tyler intruded now while Matt uselessly following behind.  
Rebekah and Klaus exchanged a devilish look between them when Tyler came in while Caroline was starting to become overwhelmed.  
“Hey Care, we've come to get you, so let’s go.” He looked at Klaus who was simply amused by this. Caroline didn’t leave Klaus’s side which only seemed to agitate Tyler.  
“Caroline, I’m being serious. Let’s go.” He was fully glaring at her while she was internally freaking out under the pressure her friends were putting on her and the arguing and yelling.  
“Tyler, I don’t want to come back.” Elena gasped in horror as Tyler started to become angry.  
“Blondie, you’ve been brainwashed. Just come back.” Damon rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Elena. Stefan, Bonnie, and Enzo were all silent and would accept whatever Caroline chose.  
“I said, no.” Tyler used his hybrid speed to grab Caroline forcefully and viciously spoke to her.  
“You’re either just blind or stupid. Maybe you’re both and you’re a dumb blonde. Either way, you’re coming home.”  
“Ow, Tyler, get off me.” As she was struggling against his hybrid strength in agony, Klaus pushed him off of her and didn’t hesitate to kick him away, nothing but fury consuming his eyes.  
“Caroline is wiser than all of you combined and you, Tyler, need to treat her with respect.” Tyler collected himself quickly and stepped further away from Klaus and considered what he would do next.  
“She’s still coming home if she knows what’s best for her. But then again, she probably doesn’t.”  
Caroline scoffed in horror and Bonnie was shocked at the vulgarity of Tyler.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tyler shook his head with a burst of cruel laughter escaping his mouth.  
“Considering that you’re jumping around from boy to boy, you clearly don’t know what’s best for you. You’re no better than Hayley who I slept with by the way. You’re both sluts.”  
Caroline was furious and hurt and tried to attack him, but Klaus got to it first, growling and tackling him to the ground.  
“You are lucky that Caroline wants me to spare you once again. But that won’t stop me from causing you insufferable pain.” With that, he sent Tyler flying to the end of the room, while he decided to allow his original siblings and Marcel to torture him in front of their eyes. As they heard Tyler’s piercing screams, Elena looked away and cried into Damon while Stefan and Enzo didn’t know how to react.  
“Klaus that’s enough!” Caroline shrieked. “Stop! Everyone just stop!” She started stress hyperventilating and combed her hair with her hand as she frantically looked around the room. Everyone immediately paused while Klaus came over to her, hands gripping her hips as he looked into her eyes, stilling her at once.  
“Caroline. Hey, look at me.” She looked up at him with glossy eyes, much like that time where he briefly comforted her for the death of 12 witches in the woods. “It’s ok, love.” He gave her a light kiss on her forehead as she took comfort in that. Elena was on the brink of spitting out another crude remark, but Damon and Stefan held her back while Tyler on the other hand wasn’t having any of it. Stefan looked at Klaus once he let go of Caroline and decided to speak.  
“I think we’ll come back tomorrow to check up on Caroline and then we’ll talk.” The eldest Mikaelson nodded in agreement while Klaus just glanced at Stefan. Caroline thanked Stefan with a slim smile and walked over to Bonnie.  
Elena retreated with Damon in a hurry while Matt followed them like a lost puppy. Tyler was about to go when he decided to annoy Klaus further than he already did as he had nothing left to lose. "No chance," Tyler murmured under his breath. He turned around and reached for Caroline, plunging his sharp hybrid teeth into her neck, and swiftly left before Klaus or any of the crowd managed to react.  
“Ow!” Caroline started to sweat rapidly, while the venom spread in her veins. The effects were instant and she knew the hallucinations would follow shortly thereafter. Bonnie helped her lay on the couch while Klaus quickly barked orders at his family and Enzo.  
“Klaus, she needs your blood!” Bonnie yelled as he used his vamp speed to go over to Caroline, immediately placing her on his lap, and bit into his wrist while she quickly latched onto his wrist, placing her fangs in his skin. Once she dug in, the familiar, warm blood filled her mouth and began to heal within the comfort of Klaus’s arm. After she finished drinking the sufficient amount of blood she needed, Caroline snuggled into the warmth that Klaus provided her and they stayed like that for a while, just them two together while the others were rushing about.

When the siblings returned, Klaus begrudgingly got up to be informed about the whereabouts of the Lockwood mutt.  
As he was about to leave the room, Caroline spoke with a croaky voice.  
“Are you going to kill him?” He halted in his tracks as he could hear the genuine worry in her voice.  
“Death is too good for Tyler. After all that he has done, I have decided to torture him and let him face never-ending pain. Are you ok with that sweetheart?” Klaus had assumed that she would reluctantly accept or convince him to free Tyler, but her reaction surprised him. Once Caroline sat up, she composed herself, nodded, and spoke.  
“I gave him so many chances and I just didn’t know how much he prioritized revenge over everything, even me who I thought he loved …” she trailed off, deep in thought about her relationship with Tyler. Klaus made his way over to her and held her hand.  
“You do know that I will always put you first because you deserve it, love.” She couldn’t help but kiss him sweetly before replying.  
“I know you will.”

Once the siblings, Marcel, Bonnie, and Enzo were in the room, they all started the meeting.  
“What are we doing with Tyler Lockwood?” Rebekah inquired, ready to follow her brother’s command.  
Klaus grinned in amusement as he was about to reveal his surprise, and as he was about to tell them, the person walked in with a bright smile on his face and a wedding ring on his finger.  
“Hello, dear sister.” Rebekah started to tear up with joy as she ran to hug her younger brother.  
“Kol! Tell me everything about your honeymoon with your gorgeous little witch!” Once he managed to escape Rebekah’s slightly suffocating hug, he sat at the table, next to his brother-in-law Marcel.  
“Later, dear sister. I heard that Nik is and his pretty girl are both having some trouble with the quaint Mystic Fall friends.” Bonnie scoffed and shot a death glare in Kol’s direction as he chuckled.  
“Relax, darling. I didn’t mean you, little witch.” She rolled her eyes at that and waited for the conversation to play out.  
“Yes, we do have to deal with the Salvatore Brothers, the Donovan boy, and the failed hybrid who I fully intend on torturing and compelling. Kol, Rebekah would you like to have some fun tomorrow?” A cheeky grin filled Kol’s face while Rebekah was more than delighted to help. She had grown to like Caroline over the past few months and was willing to kill anyone that would dare hurt her, besides, having Caroline here worked in her favor as Nik was more likely to act rationally. They spent the rest of the afternoon debating what they should do regarding the doppelganger and the brothers, unaware of Hayley who entered the compound in tears, dressed in blood while Hope was simply confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys!


	10. This means war...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter was hard but fun to write so I hope you like it as much as I did!

Hayley collapsed onto the floor, writhing in emotional agony and crying out for anyone that would listen. Caroline raced down to the courtyard and crouched down next to Hayley.  
“Hayley, what happened?” questioned Caroline, with genuine concern. Hayley struggled to contain her breathing before she replied.  
“Caroline, just… take H-Hope and get the others.” In a few seconds, she grabbed Hope and dashed off to the study where she could hear the bickering.  
“What’s wrong with mama, Caroline?” Hope questioned, genuine worry and fear in her voice.  
“I’m not sure Hope.” That was a brief and honest answer that would have to suffice until Klaus or Hayley could explain, so Hope silenced herself and let Caroline take them to where her family was.

She pushed the doors open with all her strength and put Hope down gently while everyone stared at her.  
“Caroline, love, what’s the matter?” Klaus asked, paranoia already building up.  
“It’s Hayley. Go.” Elijah was the first to leave, followed by Rebekah and Marcel and everyone else besides her Mystic Falls Friends.  
“Hello darling,” Kol said, before vanishing into thin air. Once she had regained her breath, she frowned at Bonnie out of confusion, asking for an explanation to Kol’s sudden and surprising appearance.  
“Oh, he just came back from his honeymoon with his wife, who’s also a witch by the way. Davina Claire.” Caroline looked at Bonnie and Enzo with a look of disbelief and shock.  
“I’m sorry… I just can’t believe that Kol Mikaelson is married.” Enzo chuckled at Caroline’s face expression while Bonnie responded.  
“Yeah, she really changed him.” Caroline and Bonnie exchanged smiles but Hope was confused, scared and worried.  
“Where’s Mom?” Both the girls turned around and looked at Hope who was sitting against the wall.  
“Sweetie, it’s going to be okay.”  
“No, it’s not because Mom never cries like t-that.” Hope’s voice was shaking and she was on the verge of tears so Caroline sat beside her and took her tiny, little hand, placing it underneath hers.  
“She will be okay Hope. I promise you. But right now, she’s just really sad and wanted me to look after you.” The little girl looked up at her, eyes still glossy so Caroline shifted the conversation.  
“Hope, sweetie, can you promise me something?” She nodded her head.  
“Your Daddy told me that you’re a very brave girl. So can you be brave for your Mommy and your Daddy?” She wiped her tears and nodded fiercely before hugging Caroline, who was surprised but hugged her back.

When they all found Hayley sitting against the walls, Elijah scooped her up and took her to the sofa, refusing to leave her side. Rebekah, Marcel and Kol sat down on the sofa opposite them as Klaus stood there silently, wanting to hurt the person who caused such upset and distress to Hayley.  
“Hayley,” Klaus encouraged with a calm tone,” whenever you’re ready, would you care to enlighten us about what happened?”  
She sniffled and cradled herself on the edge of the sofa.  
“Jackson and I were just walking through the bayou with Hope and…and h-he died.” She burst out into a new set of agonising tears while Elijah pulled her towards him. As sympathetic as Rebekah was, she urged Hayley to carry on, no doubt waiting to see what her brother would command them all to do.  
“Suddenly, we were ambushed by Tyler and he…he took us to a secluded cabin and once again attempted to use my blood and even Hope’s blood to make hybrids.” Klaus was fuming on a new level. Not only had this poor excuse of a boy hurt Caroline and defy him on multiple occasions, but he went for Hayley’s blood twice and his own daughter. His fists clenched and turned into a ghostly white colour as he tried to control his breathing.  
“Jackson managed to stop him and he told us to run and come back here and… he killed him. Tyler killed Jackson.” She couldn’t stomach talking about it anymore and cried once again as Elijah stayed by her side. Klaus gathered everyone else and they all entered the study.

Caroline was holding a sleeping Hope in her arms at one end of the table as best she could, while Bonnie and Enzo were sitting at the other end. When the doors finally opened, Caroline saw Klaus in a new type of anger she had never seen in him before, but his expression quickly changed into a less tense one when he saw Caroline holding Hope. He dashed over to them and kissed Caroline on the head and then Hope.  
“Should I take her up?” Caroline whispered as the others began to take their place. Klaus shook his head, which left Caroline in a confused state.  
“I’ll explain and fill you in on everything in a moment love.” He told her about Tyler and Hayley as well as the previous encounter with the Lockwood boy and by the end, Caroline was left in a state of shock. She glanced down at the precious young girl in her arms and couldn’t believe how she ever loved such a creature. As they were about to commence the meeting, Caroline touched Klaus’s arm, holding him back slightly.  
“When you catch Tyler make him pay. For everything. Kill him for all I care.” He cupped her face and replied.  
“I fully intend to, sweetheart.” Then he placed Hope onto Rebekah’s lap and commenced the long meeting which Hayley and Elijah joined.

Klaus began with recalling the events of the day and focused on a plan to bring Lockwood back to torture and kill him as well as heighten their own defence.  
Bonnie would now be working with Davina and Kol on spells, while Enzo, Marcel, Rebekah and Elijah would help Klaus in fighting as well as protect Hope and as for Caroline, she would train with any of them, including Klaus.  
They shifted onto the next matter, which was related to her Mystic Fall friends.  
“I’m not going back and they’ll just have to deal with that,” Caroline argued. Klaus was relieved that he would finally have his queen by his side, willingly, and he gave her hand a squeeze which had her smiling at him. Bonnie and Enzo were set to return along with their friends in a few days, once the Lockwood matter was dealt with and they finished up with that plan, leaving Enzo to inform the group about it.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They were all in their rented penthouse suite when Enzo dialled them. Damon put him on speakerphone so they could all hear updates.  
“So, is Blondie coming home?”  
“No, Damon, she’s determined to stay.” Elena scoffed and walked over to pick up the phone.  
“But Enzo, I-”  
“Elena.” He cut her off.” She wants to do it out of her own will and Bonnie and I have been here for weeks. He loves her and besides, Bonnie made it clear that she will hurt him if he hurts her, which he hasn’t.” Elena sighed and went to sit on Damon’s lap, realizing that Enzo had a valid point.  
“Ok,” Stefan said, already aware of her decision. Damon was shocked at this decision and expressed his worries to Enzo, who quickly dismissed them.  
“By the way, the Mikaelsons want you to come as soon as you can. There’s a worrying matter that they need to discuss with you.”  
Elena, Matt and the Salvatores shared an apprehensive look as the tension started to build up. They quickly agreed, without the need for discussion. As they were about to hang up, Enzo quickly chimed in.  
“By chance, have you seen the Lockwood boy since his dramatic departure?” Stefan spoke into the phone, telling him that they hadn’t. Matt, who had been silent throughout most of this exchange, finally spoke up.  
“Enzo, I think he’s planning something so just be careful.” He sighed and Enzo terminated the call.

Elena was first to speak after the call ended.  
“Matt, what do you think he’ll do?” Everyone directed their glances to him as he sighed.  
“While you were all inside in the Mikaelson compound, Tyler and I were outside and I was trying to calm him down. He was talking about taking Klaus down as usual, so I guess I didn’t take it seriously. I think we should.” They all ended up bickering and squabbling before texting Bonnie that they would be at the compound in the morning.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They all sat around the dinner, with Hope now supervised everywhere she went. Klaus had tightened the security measures around the compound to ensure all of their safety and they all agreed, some reluctantly.  
As they began to make small talk, Josh burst into the compound, calling out for Marcel. They called out for him and he rushed into the dining room. “Marcel, Klaus. There’s gonna be an uprising. I saw few of the witches in the French quarter and I-” Marcel started to become furious as Klaus stood up and moved away from his seat, starting to pace.  
“This cannot be a coincidence,” Elijah said, attempting to make connections.  
“That’s not all,” Josh continued as they all turned to look at him.  
“There was this guy that was very drunk at Rousseau’s. I noticed him talk to Sophie Deveraux and Agnes. I also heard your names being mentioned and let’s just say the guy seemed to hate you, Klaus.”  
“He still conspired against me, even now. Poor lad, his hatred really does run deep.” There were few chuckles across the room as Caroline looked away slightly. Josh was confused and Rebekah responded to his expression.  
“He’s talking about Tyler Lockwood, Joshua. To put it short, Tyler is a psycho hybrid failure that’s been out to get Klaus since his transition. He even tried to take blood from Hayley twice and Hope too.” Josh frowned and his distaste for the drunkard he saw yesterday grew.  
“Well, if you guys are taking down Tyler and the witches then I’m down.”  
Marcel offered Josh a place next to him and once he was settled, they all had dinner and the conversation drifted from the plans of the week to something lighter.

After dinner, they all went to sit in the living room and Bonnie used this opportunity to go up to Kol.  
“Kol Mikaelson. Married. Who would’ve thought?” Bonnie teased as Kol chuckled.  
“I did surprise myself in all honesty, little witch,” he said as he was thinking of his gorgeous wife at that moment.  
“When do I get to meet the amazing woman that changed the great evil Kol Mikaelson?” He flashed a genuine smile at Bonnie and she knew that he was in love with Davina. Not that she’d ever admit this to anyone, but she was secretly happy for him.  
“In due course, little witch.” He paused as he watched Enzo wrap his arms around her and kissed her, speaking afterwards.  
“I see you found yourself a boyfriend,” Kol said, teasing her in return.  
“She did, and if you excuse us, I’m about to whisk her away,” Enzo said, a smirk appearing on his face. As they left, Kol decided to joke.  
“Be careful little witch!” He was starting to laugh when Caroline approached him, rolling her eyes.  
“Seriously?” she exclaimed, in a joking manner.  
“Hello, Caroline. What a pleasure to see you again. I must say, with you here you have tamed Nik a lot, although, I do recall Rebekah mentioning that you drove him crazy with your no humanity ripper Caroline phase.” Caroline flinched at that, which Kol could see, and she quickly changed the subject.  
“I can’t believe you, out of all people, are married. Who’s the lucky girl?” Caroline asked. Kol took mock offence to that while making a silly remark that Caroline laughed at.  
“Davina Claire and she’s simply the most fabulous woman that I have ever encountered,” he said, words full of honesty as he was beaming at the mere mention of her.

After their conversation, Caroline headed to the kitchen to grab herself a snack while Klaus sneaked in and wrapped his arms around her.  
“Hey, you,” Caroline said calmly as she embraced the warmth of his embrace.  
“Hello, love. I do apologize for leaving you with Hope for a while.” She turned around and placed her arms around his neck as he gripped her hips.  
“Oh it’s ok, she was an angel. Also, I get it.” He looked at her questioningly.  
”Seriously, it’s fine, Klaus. Anyway, I’m so freaking tired, so I wanna go to bed. Coming?” The baby vampire yawned as her eyelids became heavier. Klaus carried her bridal style to his room as she started to fall asleep in his arms. 

Her eyes opened slowly and she found herself in his bed. Klaus was sitting next to her and tucking her hair away from her face.  
“Shhh, sleep, love. You need to rest as we have a lot to do tomorrow.” She reluctantly nodded while he left her side to get into the bed. When he was in the bed, she moved over towards him and slept comfortably in his arms. After a few seconds, Caroline gathered the energy to speak.  
“I’m sorry… for everything,” she said quietly as she held back a yawn.  
“You have nothing to be sorry for, love.” Klaus sat up and stared at her, frowning as he tried to figure out where she was taking this conversation.  
“I do actually,” Caroline said as she sat up.  
“I’m sorry for causing chaos. I’m sorry for killing and hurting people in your city. I’m sorry for all my stupid insecurities and most of all, I’m sorry that you had to deal with me at all,” she said sadly while Klaus wore an expression of a person that had just been slapped. He tried to speak but Caroline held her hand up to silence him.  
“Yeah, I get that you wanted to help me, but I think we both know that my coming here was a mistake and I just…” she sighed while Klaus was up, pacing while clenching his hands.  
“You just what, Caroline?” Klaus replied bitterly.  
“I just think that I should go. After this is all over, I’ll just go.” The truth was, she didn’t want to leave him. She loved him and she always knew that she would, but she didn’t want to cause any more trouble.  
“Where is this coming from?” He was snarling now, rage consuming him.  
“It doesn’t matter, Klaus. You have to let me go” Klaus flinched away and his teeth clamped together tightly.  
“Hey, look at me.” She tried to cup his face but he pushed his hand away which felt like a sharp stab of pain for her.  
“I love you,” she said quietly, in the hopes that it would calm him down but it only seemed to anger him.  
“Don’t,” he growled as his rage was fully on show. He stopped pacing and gazed at the view of New Orleans to distract him. Once he relaxed slightly, he continued speaking.  
“When you accepted my offer, I made it very clear that I would never let you go. You knew that Caroline and yet now, you seem determined to leave me all of a sudden. Did your friends finally convince you that I’m the big, bad hybrid Klaus Mikaelson who will stop at nothing to destroy everything in his path? Or was it on your own accord?” His voice was full of bitter anger, which he had never used with her before.  
Caroline scoffed, acting as if unfazed by the anger, although it did hurt her, slightly disappointed by his own doubts about her intentions.  
“Seriously?!” Caroline amplified her voice. “Grow up, Klaus and spare me your ‘big bad hybrid’ crap and cut out attitude because I really don’t need it.” He pinned her to the wall and held her there as she became defiant.  
“Let go of me,” she said through gritted teeth.  
“No.”  
“Seriously?! Give it up. Let go of me.” He stepped closer to her, both of them radiating lust and anger off of each other. But Caroline was determined to have her way. Before speaking again, she relaxed and Klaus became less tense.  
“We’re both stubborn so this is how we’re going to deal with this. If you love me, you’re going to listen to what I have to say. Ok?” He begrudgingly nodded as he let go of Caroline.  
“I’m sorry about everything: Tyler, killing and compelling, annoying you and I’m sorry for plotting against you back in Mystic Falls. All I do when I’m around you is cause trouble and I can’t let that happen anymore, you don’t deserve it. I know I’m annoying and high maintenance, so if you could just let me go back with my friends, that would be great.” She inhaled and exhaled calmly as she was waiting for his response. He seemed to tense up and she could see a glow of hybrid yellow in his eyes before he walked away, away from her.  
“So you’re just going to walk away? God, you’re no better than Tyler.”  
“Do not compare me to that poor excuse of a boy!” yelled Klaus as he turned around with hybrid features on show, which slightly scared Caroline but she rose above it. She rolled her eyes and they stood still in the tense silence for a few minutes before he left. When he was downstairs smashing objects into the wall, she let herself cry, hysterically. The last time she cried was a few weeks ago, for her mom. This time she would pick up the fragmented pieces of her heart herself and she made a promise to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tysm for reading! Please leave Kudos- would be appreciated :)


	11. Peace in New Orleans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things happen in this chapter and it took me some time to write. Hope you like it!

Those living in the Mikaelson compound were all disturbed by the screaming, yelling, and cries between Klaus and Caroline in the early morning. The members that were sleeping were reluctantly dragged out of bed to go and see what the commotion was all about while the other members dashed off. When they all met in the kitchen, all of the group had a brief breakfast before deciding on a tactical plan to deal with the couple. They were all praying that this issue would be sorted out by the time the Mystic Falls group came.  
Once they all decided and finished breakfast rapidly, the Mikaelson family approached Klaus first while Bonnie and Enzo went to check on Caroline. 

When Elijah passed by, he saw Hayley in front of Klaus, who had a vase in his hand and Elijah chose to leave them to it and interfere if Hayley couldn’t get through to him.  
“You’re going to wake up Hope if you keep throwing things,” Hayley said calmingly.” This seemed to work as he handed to object over to Hayley who placed it down on the table of the living room. She spotted the others listening in and Elijah was about to come in when she mouthed “not now.”  
“So Klaus, what was all the yelling about?”  
“Not now, Hayley,” he growled as he took a gulp of his bourbon.  
“You’re going have to tell me because whatever it is, we need to sort it out before everything.” Klaus sighed before turning to look at Hayley as the others started to trail in. Then he told them the gist of the argument with his still tense expression. After he finished and everyone absorbed the story fully, the others started to comment.  
“I just can’t comprehend why she thinks so badly of herself,” Rebekah said.  
“I bet you it was because of our beloved doppelganger and her boyfriends,” Kol remarked jokingly in a feeble attempt at lifting the mood. Elijah coughed and redirected the conversation.  
“Brother, you will have to be civil with Caroline throughout the meeting with her friends.” Klaus scowled but nodded shortly thereafter before going to clean himself up.

Caroline hibernated in her room, which felt foreign considering that she had been in Klaus’s room for so long. All the suppressed tears started to flow as she covered her face and cried in silence, trying to comprehend how it all went downhill so quickly. A quiet knock at the door pulled her from her uncomforting thoughts.  
“Come in,” she said, sniffing and attempting to wipe her eyes dry.  
“Hey Care,” Bonnie began, using a soothing voice. She looked up at her best friend and Enzo who genuinely was concerned for her.  
“Caroline, would you mind telling us what happened?” Enzo asked as he sat on an available chair while Bonnie sat on the bed, allowing Caroline to lay down on her. Much like Klaus, she repeated the events of that night, except with tears instead of anger. Bonnie ended up chuckling lightly while Caroline frowned.  
“What’s funny, Bon?”  
“I’m sorry, it’s just… you guys are both so stubborn.” Caroline laughed and sniffed after.  
“I know.”  
“As much as I hate to say this, it’s your fault.” Bonnie started while Caroline was looking displeased and offended. When she tried to dispute this, Bonnie got to it first.  
“Let yourself be happy! Unlike Elena, you’re not being selfish. Yes, on your no humanity bender, you did bad stuff, but you deserve to be loved and to be put first as well. He loves you, Care. Love isn’t easy and there will always be problems, that’s a given. But the world’s most powerful creature loves you and wants to protect you. He doesn’t care about problems, he just wants you and doesn’t want to let you go. So as your best friend, I’m telling you to go to him and makeup.”  
“That’s my wise little witch,” Enzo said as he came to give Bonnie a kiss on her head which made her smile.

Caroline composed herself and got dressed, hoping to make amends with Klaus before the others came and she had agreed to act normally around the others. As she was walking towards the stairs, she caught sight of a room that she never saw. The Art Studio. She could sense Klaus was there and entered confidently. His back was turned to her as he was painting a portrait of…her.  
“Wow, that’s… amazing,” Caroline started while he turned around, less tense than before.  
“It doesn’t do you justice,” he said while directly looking at her.  
“Can we talk?” He nodded and waited for her to sit before starting.  
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve said that a lot, but I am. I shouldn’t have said what I said last night and just so you know, I want to be with you, and I’m staying… if your offer still stands?” she asked apprehensively. He felt relief flood over him, calming his internal paranoia.  
“Of course it does love.” He gestured her to come and sit on his lap and she didn’t hesitate. After she let out a big sigh, Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck before beginning to speak.  
“I’m so sorry…” she said, genuine and raw emotion in her voice.  
“Caroline, there is nothing for you to be sorry for. I have dealt with much worse over the one thousand years that I have existed and your Mystic Falls friends and Tyler are hardly a threat in comparison. As for you causing trouble and killing here, I have done much worse than you and so have your friends. How is the ripper doing by the way?” She rolled her eyes before replying.  
“Stefan’s not your “ripper buddy” anymore.” Klaus had an amused expression on his face, similar to the one at the Mystic Falls Pageant, almost laughing at the fact that she air quoted with her hands as she said this. He collected himself after and continued.  
“When you were younger in Mystic Falls with your friends, it was justified that you’d pick them over me and plot against me. You were protective over all of them, even if they mistreated you or simply didn’t care. You loved them regardless of what they did” A brief pause filled the room as Caroline tried to find her words.  
“I was curious about you ever since the first night that we met and my interest in you never swayed, despite it being an inconvenience for me at times. When you were being used as bait against me, that never changed. I took every chance to spend time with you because I loved you, even then. It would be impossible not to notice you, Caroline.” He gazed at Caroline, who had happy tears in her eyes. He lifted his hand to wipe a tear away and then Caroline leaned in to kiss him.  
“I love you” she uttered.  
‘I love you, sweetheart. That will never change.”  
After they spent another few minutes together, Caroline withdrew.  
“We have to go, Klaus. Come on.” He reluctantly got up and let his queen drag him away, back to reality.

When they entered the study, everyone was present and immediately silenced upon their entry. He took her hand in his and everyone immediately relaxed, knowing they had resolved.  
“Ok so now you guys are good, what’s next?” Hayley enquired, awaiting instructions like an impatient Rebekah.  
“Patience, Hayley. They will arrive shortly.” For the next five minutes, they made small talk with each other but then heard the doors of a car slam.  
Bonnie walked to Caroline, who detached herself from Klaus’s side, and hugged her best friend.  
“No matter what, I’m always here for you, Care.”  
“Me too, Bon.” They then headed off to the entrance where their friends were waiting for them.  
Unlike their last visit, Elena was visible to their eye but Damon was stood next to her on one side and Stefan was on the other.  
“Hey, Care,” Elena mumbled after Stefan reached forward and gave her a comforting hug. Caroline greeted Elena coldly and barely acknowledged Damon as usual, as did Enzo and Bonnie.  
“Should we proceed with the pressing matter?” Elijah offered while he guided them to the dining room. Once they all took their seat in the room, Damon got straight to it.  
“So, Enzo here told us that there was something besides Blondie that you wanted to discuss. What is it?” Caroline rolled her eyes at Damon’s humor attempt while Klaus was silently raging at Damon.  
“It’s about the Lockwood boy,” Rebekah said, looking bored. Elena’s interest piqued while the Salvatore brothers were urging her to continue.  
“He decided to rebel against Klaus yet again-”  
“Surprise, surprise,” Damon interjected while Elena elbowed him.  
“This time, he used the witches of New Orleans to do it and there will be a war here. He also killed Hayley’s husband, attempted to manufacture Hybrids with Hayley’s blood yet again and her daughter’s too.” Rebekah sighed as she let them absorb the information.  
“How does it involve us?” Matt said, worried for his friend. Some of the group conversed with each other before Caroline spoke up.  
“Tyler had gone crazy and we don’t know what he’ll do anymore. He could use you guys to try and make a point to Klaus and I, or even me. So you can either go home or try and help us stop him.” Elena struggled not to respond to the way Caroline referred to herself as being part of the Mikaelson family and Damon wanted to get out of there. But Stefan was willing to help his best friend at any cost.  
“Count us in.” The Mystic Falls group looked at him in utter shock for a few moments before Damon reluctantly agreed. They then exchanged phone numbers and formulated a plan and after that, they departed swiftly.

The next few days dragged out as Marcel was waiting to hear from Josh regarding the attack. The anticipation seemed to drive all of the Mikaelson siblings insane and it weirdly brought Hayley and Caroline closer together.  
Caroline was sitting in the kitchen and sipping some wine when Elena came over after texting Caroline.  
“Hey, Care.”  
“Hey, Elena.” She sighed as Elena took a seat beside her.  
“So you wanted to talk about something?” Caroline questioned, moving the rigid conversation.  
“Yeah. Are you sure you want to stay here in New Orleans, Care?”  
Caroline tried to interrupt, ready to defend her views, but Elena continued.  
“I know you’re in love with Klaus and if you want to be with him, that’s…fine.” Elena almost choked on her words but gathered herself instantly.  
“I just meant that… are you sure you don’t want to go back home?” Caroline sighed out of relief, thankful Elena didn’t once again critique her choice to be with Klaus.  
“Yes, I’m sure, Elena. It just doesn’t feel like home without mom.” There was a gap filled by temporary silence as they thought about Liz briefly.  
“But I’ll obviously come to visit you guys anyway, so I guess it’s ok.” Caroline looked at Elena, waiting for her to respond.  
“Care, your mom would have been so proud of you and who you’ve become.”  
“Elena-”  
“I’m not done, Care. Yes, humanity-less Caroline did kill and compel some people but you came back reasonably quickly. At least you didn’t burn your house down,” Elena joked, making both herself and her best friend laugh. Within seconds they hugged each other, allowing the warmth of their friendship to replace the bitter cold tension which subsided.  
“Thanks, Elena.” Her friend was about to get up when Bonnie strolled in.  
“What’s going on and why wasn’t I invited?” Bonnie questioned jokingly as she walked over to the girls who glanced at each.  
“We were just chatting,” Elena admitted while Bonnie scoffed in mock hurt before they all moved went to Caroline’s room, and gossiped, with blaring music in the background.

The evening came swiftly and none of the Mikaelsons were to be seen, including Enzo and Hayley. Caroline took notice of this before speaking her thoughts to the others.  
As Elena got up to leave, an eerie silence filled the compound.  
“Elena, don’t,” Caroline whispered while trying to detect any noise.  
“Why is it so quiet here, Care?” Bonnie asked.  
“I can’t hear anything.” The girls were silenced by Caroline, who tried to figure out what was going on.  
“Caroline, where’s Klaus?” Bonnie inquired.  
“Something tells me the attack has started…” Elena trailed off. Bonnie advised Elena to call for back up and she tried Stefan, Damon, Matt, and anyone who would answer but they didn’t seem to respond.  
“Care, what do we do?”  
“Bonnie, can you do a locator spell on Klaus? I have a vial of his blood just in case I get bitten.” The witch nodded and began chanting the all too familiar spell while Elena kept calling the friends.  
“Guys, I have our location.” Caroline heard of the Lafayette Cemetery as it was briefly mentioned by Davina.  
“Let’s go,” Elena said determinedly. They all headed downstairs cautiously and once it was safe, they left.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ They were all faced against the numerous witches and hybrids that Tyler had somehow created once they arrived at the address given to them. As they prepared to fight, he couldn’t help but think about Caroline. It somehow worked in his favor that the witch, Caroline, and the doppelganger didn’t come, but his paranoia was still present. Klaus worried about the whereabouts of the Lockwood boy and he hoped that Tyler wouldn’t find the girls in the compound, his girl. Fortunately for him, Tyler appeared with Sophie and Agnes by his side shortly after the family arrived at the cemetery.  
“Klaus, Elijah. Hello, everyone,” Sophie said politely. Tyler had a resting smirk on his face and seemed impatient to fight. Klaus, confident as ever, took a step forward but Elijah restrained him by the simple gesture of clutching his arm.  
“Sophie, Agnes. You got us here. What do you want?” Marcel was consumed with bitter rage while the rest were waiting.  
“To throw the Mikaelsons out of New Orleans, but primarily you and Klaus, and the young boy over here wants to do the same.” Marcel’s gaze shifted over to the boy Agnes was gesturing at- Tyler who held his ground, looking content.  
“If that’s how you want to play it, then let’s begin…” Marcel stepped back and gave a sarcastic bow, gesturing his hand out with a cheeky smirk on his face.  
There was significant bloodshed within seconds. The Originals, Salvatores and Enzo tore out the throats of many hybrids and witches while Davina stopped the older witches. Tyler was ready to fight for his life and charged for Klaus , but Klaus was quick on his feet and caused him immense suffering after.

When the girls arrived, they could hear shrieks of pain in all directions. This was shortly followed by grunts, yelling, and shouts. The chaos seemed to cause Elena distress as she could hear Damon scream in pain but Bonnie held her back. Once again, the girls looked at Caroline, wondering what to do.  
“Seriously? Why are you looking at me like that?” she hissed as they exchanged a worried look.  
“What should we do?” Bonnie asked. Caroline thought about this for a few seconds, trying to formulate a plan and in a few seconds, she had a plan in mind, determined to execute it.  
“Trust me?” Both the girls nodded as Caroline gestured for them to follow her.  
“Elena, go to Damon and Stefan while Bonnie and I go the others.” She nodded while Caroline talked to Bonnie.  
“We’re going to try and win the witches over, ok?” Bonnie reluctantly agreed and they both went into the battlefield, nervous but also confident.

“Stop!” Caroline yelled. This seemed to work as they all turned to look at her.  
“Caroline, what are you doing, love?” Klaus looked baffled much like the others and Enzo was worried for Bonnie.  
“Bonnie? It’s not safe for you, what are you doing here?” Caroline turned her back on her friends and walked over to Sophie and Agnes, dismissing Tyler.  
“I’m guessing you’re the witches that helped start this war. Correct?” Sophie and Agnes looked at each other, unwilling to respond.  
“I said, correct?” Caroline was beginning to become agitated.  
“Yes,” huffed Agnes.  
“My friend Bonnie here and I want to negotiate.” The only common thing between everyone was the shock written on their faces.  
“I heard that you can’t practice magic here. True or not true?” Bonnie asked and she patiently waited for one of them to respond, which they did by reluctantly nodding.  
“So what if we told you that you could practice it again?” Caroline suggested. The eyes of the witches were filled with a glimmer of hope while Marcel was full of rage.  
“Caroline, what are you suggesting we do?” Rebekah spoke up after following along.  
“If given the chance to practice again and live fairly, would you take it?” Sophie nodded, becoming more open to the idea. Caroline continued.  
“Good, that’s what I thought. So then, what if you gave up your revenge against Marcel and Klaus if I could convince them to let you perform magic or witchy woo stuff again?” Bonnie had a smile on her face at the mention of the word while Klaus became less tense.  
“Sure. But how do we know they will agree?” Sophie asked suspiciously.  
“If you guys want peace then sacrifices will have to be made. So they’ll let you practice magic and you guys don’t start a fight. That’s pretty much it,” Caroline said as a small smile appeared on her face. Marcel, Elijah, and Klaus walked up to them at that moment and Klaus didn’t hesitate to reach out for Caroline’s hand which she willingly gave to him. This caused the witches to gasp as they struggled to comprehend how the big bad evil hybrid fell in love.

The witches and Mikaelsons gathered by the stairs to the old chapel in order to negotiate. It was agreed that there would be a monthly meeting there in which they would meet to discuss issues in New Orleans and the supernatural species. Davina and Sophie would represent the witch faction while Marcel and Rebekah would be in control of the vampires, leaving Klaus and Hayley to represent the werewolves or hybrids. After some debate about who would stick up for the humans, the Mikaelsons landed on Caroline who was satisfied with their decision. Upon gazing around, Caroline spotted her friends who were debating over who would go talk to a raging Tyler sitting on the steps of the chapel. So, as they were all talking, Caroline left Klaus’s side and only made it a step forward before she felt his touch on her arm.  
“What are you doing, love?”  
“Oh, I’m just going to talk to Tyler.” Klaus gave her a doubtful look but brought her forward to kiss her forehead lightly before telling her to be careful and he watched her vigilantly.

Before approaching Tyler, she informed her friends about what she was going to do now. This, of course, wasn’t an easy conversation as there were multiple concerns, but she assured them that he wouldn’t try anything now and if he did, she would call for them to help her. So when she approached him, Caroline knew she had to be strategic about this.  
“Hey Tyler, can I sit?” His head moved slightly in her direction, but his eyes were shut and his fists were still clenched, so she took that as a cue to sit down, a few feet away from him.  
“I’m so sorry.”  
“Care, don’t. I don’t want to hear it.” She almost shivered at the bitter anger in his voice but managed to hold her ground.  
“That’s too bad because I don’t care.” He snorted and received a cold glare from the blonde.  
“Get over yourself Tyler!” Caroline scoffed at his arrogance and this seemed to attract attention from everyone, but she still preceded. He looked up at her angrily.  
“He killed my mom, Care! He murdered Jenna, used Elena, and he-” Tyler tried, spitting the words out of his mouth but Caroline brutally cut him off.  
“Seriously? This again? God, you’re so annoying. Also, what makes you any better than him? You bit me, Tyler, for revenge. You broke up with me. You took Hayley twice and tried to use her blood for your stupid hybrid attack against Klaus and you even tried to use Hope’s blood, who is a child by the way. So get over yourself!” Tyler looked up at her like he had been slapped in the face, which he had been, except verbally. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Klaus staring at her as well as all the others and continued as if they weren’t looking.  
“I’ve got nothing left, Care. You don’t understand.” She saw his eyes tear up a bit before he turned away and tried to collect himself, but Caroline cupped his face and got him to turn around. In that instant, he looked vulnerable and was ready to cry but Tyler stopped himself.  
“Look at me, Tyler,” she said softly, in the hopes of getting his attention. When he didn’t, she repeated herself more austerely.  
“Tyler, look at me.” This time he did, with a stray tear falling down his cheek.  
“You have us. You have me, Matt, Elena, Bonnie, Stefan, and the others. Don’t push us away. We’re your friends and we’re here for you.” Her friends came over and Matt sat beside Tyler after being protected by his friends in the war, remaining uninjured.  
“You’re not a bad person Tyler and I forgive you.” He looked up at Caroline with confusion.  
“Yes, you did bad things and yes, you let revenge get the better of you, but you’re not a bad person. I forgive you.” He smiled slightly and thanked her before she hugged him and got up. His hand stopped her and she turned around to look at him.  
“Care… I’m sorry. For everything.” She smiled at his shy apology and then left him to be helped by her friends while she retreated .  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once they arrived back at the compound, they saw that Hayley and Hope were sitting at the entrance in anticipation. Hope spotted them first.  
“Dad!” She ran up to him and he scooped her up in his arms as she squealed.  
“Hello, littlest wolf.” He gave her a kiss before setting her down as Hayley went to kiss Elijah and hug him.  
After everyone got settled and sat down in the living room, Hayley spoke up.  
“So, how was it?” Klaus was about to respond but Kol got to it first.  
“It was a bloodbath as usual, but Nik’s pretty girlfriend here came to an agreement with the witches and dealt with Tyler.” He smirked as he glanced at Hayley who had a look of disbelief on her face.  
“You got Tyler to back down?” Hayley laughed while Caroline responded with a goofy smile on her face.  
“I don’t know what I was thinking and honestly, I was kind of scared of his temper.”  
“How can you be scared of the mutt’s temper while my brother Nik is the angriest, most stubborn and temperamental person to exist?” Rebekah added. Caroline shrugged before replying.  
“I guess Tyler became unpredictable, but Klaus here,” she said,” is predictable.” Caroline turned around to stare at Klaus who was stood behind her, holding her hips while she hooked her arms around his neck, both of them looking into each other’s eyes with adoration.  
“How cute,” Kol remarked while his wife nudged him and Rebekah rolled her eyes. It wasn’t until now that she realized how much Caroline rubbed off on her and now that she thought about it, it was slightly terrifying.  
After their love life talk continued, Elijah suggested that they should get ready for dinner in an hour and so, they parted their separate ways.

Caroline was standing out on Klaus’s balcony, admiring the beauty of New Orleans at night when Klaus came out to join her.  
“I’m so tired,” Caroline remarked as rested her head on Klaus’s shoulder.  
“You were amazing tonight, love.” She looked at him, only to see the reflection of how proud he was of her in his eyes. He looked at her like she was his queen. Who was she kidding? She probably is his queen. Klaus pulled her out from her deep train of thought by turning her towards him and pushing a strand of her hair away from her face. Once again, Caroline hooked her arms around his neck and they kissed under the moonlight and nightlife around them. When they withdrew from the kiss, Caroline decided to ask Klaus a question that had lingered in her mind since falling in love with him.  
“Klaus?”  
“Yes, sweetheart?”  
“I know this is ridiculous but what happens if you fall in love with someone else in the future and you don’t like me as much anymore?” He grinned at that which amplified Caroline’s concern and when he broke into light-hearted laughter, it made her slightly irritated, so she nudged him gently.  
“What’s so funny?”  
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I find it absurd that you think that I would ever stop loving you. The mere notion of me loving someone else that isn’t you is also ridiculous.”  
“But what if I kept my humanity on and didn’t come back? What if you fell in love with Cami?” There was a small fraction of vulnerability that she only allowed Klaus to see because she knew he’d always put her first and take care of her.  
“Sweetheart, that didn’t happen.”  
‘But what if it did?” He became more serious now and adjusted his tone before responding.  
“If this were the scenario, I would still love you regardless, even if the events that unfolded before us never occurred.” She smiled at that and whispered an “I love you” to him before kissing him again.

At dinner, the couples were all sat together, with Hope sitting in between Davina and her uncle Kol. There was laughter, embarrassment, and genuine happiness within the dining room which used to be rare, but the newly found peace in New Orleans seemed to ease the once tense atmosphere significantly.  
All the vampires devoured the blood wine and drank a few glasses of it to recover from the long day while the witches drank normal wine. At one point, Hope even went to play the piano with the ladies crowding behind her.  
As the evening drew to a close and Hope was now fast asleep, a drunk Bonnie gasped while the others looked at her in concern.  
“Bon, are you okay?” Caroline asked, trying to act as concerned as she could in her drunken state.  
“Care, I just had the best idea!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, guys! Please leave kudos is you can; it would be appreciated :)


	12. And so it ends...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the final one! Just note it's focused on what Damon did to Caroline -it's just a constant theme throughout but there's definitely other stuff too. Hope you like it as it's the final chapter!  
> As usual, please leave kudos :) it would be appreciated!!!  
> I might also write an epilogue cause why not <3

Caroline looked at her best friend, brows furrowed together as she tried to piece together what Bonnie was implying.  
“What?” Caroline asked, partly to hear what Bonnie said again as she couldn’t focus the first time and partly to try and understand.  
“I said, I have a good idea! Get the girls.” Caroline yelled for Hayley, Rebekah, and Davina to come, and she then preceded to gag as she felt sick.  
“Caroline, are you s-sick?” A drunk Rebekah asked before calling out for her brother.  
“Nik! Your girlfriend j-just vomited everywhereeee.” Once she finished yelling, the women all gave her death stares in an attempt to get her to be quiet and she apologized.  
“Why did Care call us?” Hayley asked drowsily.  
“I had an idea!”  
“What is it?” Davina asked, slurring her words while Bonnie almost lost her balance. Bonnie told them the brief details and by the time she finished, the girls were either squealing in excitement or dreading the hangover they would get in the next two mornings. Once Bonnie finished, they all attempted to make it out of the dining room alive, and yet, the only ones to succeed were Hayley and Davina and even they stumbled few times. 

As soon as Caroline reached her room, she stumbled, and unfortunately, Klaus wasn’t there to catch her so she fell onto the hard wooden floor and yelped in pain.  
“Ow,” she exclaimed while she sat up and rubbed her forehead, pushing herself away from the door and towards the door.  
When Klaus heard the cry of agony, he vamp sped to his room and stopped in his tracks as he saw a drunk Caroline sitting on the floor and rubbing her forehead agitatedly.  
“Hello, love. Do you need help getting into bed?” he asked teasingly, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to without help.  
“Y-yes,” she said as she yawned. He scooped her up and gently placed her on their bed. Klaus then helped her change into pajamas and get into bed while she was half asleep already.  
Caroline mumbled a quiet but audible enough ‘thank you’ to Klaus before falling asleep in his protective arms.

On that same night, Caroline got a nightmare about Damon and everything that happened with him. This nightmare was the same as every other of him and they wouldn’t be frequent, but these nightmares would still occur. Even though she drank alcohol, the nightmares overpowered her exhaustion and drunken state. This lead Caroline to jolt upright with sweaty palms, the pounding headache already starting. Once she slowed her breathing and calmed herself, she realized Klaus was elsewhere and decided she would tell him, but for now, she wouldn’t be able to sleep because it would keep haunting her. After rubbing her eyes, Caroline got up to look at him, desperately trying to ignore the headache and dizziness she was feeling at that moment. The first place she thought to look was the art studio which was empty, as was the study and kitchen, so she decided to retreat and find bare comfort in sleep. As she approached their room, she found him in the entrance to it.

“Hey.” He turned around to look at her, giving her an apprehensive and concerned look.  
“Hello love, where did you go?”  
“To find you actually,” she responded with a slight smile on her face. He took her hand in his before speaking.  
‘How come you were looking for me?” Caroline gulped and looked away slightly which made him worry again.  
“Um, I think we need to talk.” She saw his face drop in dismay and knew what he was thinking.  
“Before you ask, no I’m not leaving you. It’s about something else. Actually, it’s more accurate to say…someone.” He was a couple of inches away from her now, both hands at her hips to steady her as she was still a bit dizzy from earlier on.  
“Let’s go to bed and you can tell me in the morning if you prefer, love,” Klaus said while planting a kiss on her forehead. Caroline started to fidget with her fingers as she became quieter.  
“It can’t wait Klaus.” They went to their room and settled down.  
“Caroline, are you sure you’re in the right state of mind to inform me about this troubling matter?” His voice was full of concern when he said this.  
“Trust me when I say I am,” she murmured.  
“Before I tell you, you have to promise not to kill this person,” she began which immediately spurred Klaus’s paranoia and anger. He clenched his jaw and looked away.  
“Klaus, promise me. If you don’t, then I won’t tell you. That’s fine,” she said,” although I figured that you’d want to know since you love me.” He looked directly into her eyes and he could only see worry.  
“I promise,” he huffed as he took her hands in his.  
“Ok, so it all happened when I was human and…”  
Caroline told him the full story and braved through it, although it was the first time she told the truth and someone believed her. She even told Klaus how her friends knew and didn’t say anything until Stefan put her on vervain and how Katherine let Caroline push Damon, which was her only revenge. By the end, Klaus was beyond furious, the dangerous hybrid glow showing up in his eyes on multiple occasions, but he had to be calm for her as she was crying, so he chose to stroke her hair and kiss her on her head as she murmured words.

After a while, she spoke up again, breaking the silence.  
“I had that nightmare tonight, of Damon compelling me, draining me, and hurting me. When I woke up, I was sweating and crying too and I just…” she paused,” I just wanted you to be there. None of the others understand how I fee or care besides Bonnie who knows.”  
“Caroline, I hope you know that you are the strongest one out of all your friends. You most certainly didn’t deserve to endure the suffering that you experienced over the course of your human and vampire life, but I will not let anyone hurt you, sweetheart. Not anymore.” He held her in his arms, radiating the comfort and warmth that she needed at that moment. After a few sniffles, she gathered herself.  
“If you happen to find Damon alone, it wouldn’t be the worst thing if you hurt him a little.” He smiled a cruel smile, one with malicious mischief.  
“When I get my hands on Damon, I will tear his limbs out. One by one. You can be assured that I will torture him.” Caroline glanced up at him.  
“Just don’t overdo it, because Elena-”  
“You love your friends in spite of what they have done to you and they don’t deserve it. Truth be told, I don’t either. It’s time Damon faces the long-overdue torture.” She shot him a glare as he grinned, a signature Klaus smirk present on his face. As usual, Caroline couldn’t help but roll her eyes at this smirk but she went in to give him a tender kiss, falling asleep in his steady and secure arms.

Caroline woke up to the sound of Klaus sketching away and groaned as she hid underneath the duvet, causing Klaus to smirk.  
“Ugh, seriously?” He set aside his sketchbook and pencil and walked over to her, removing the covers from her face.  
“Good morning, love.” He sat down beside her and kissed her head, which made her smile and reach out for him.  
“Hey, you.” Her eyes opened slowly and she saw the beaming sunlight, immediately covering her eyes with a pillow.  
“Ugh, it’s way too bright in here and why is everyone speaking so loudly?” Klaus chuckled at this and removed the pillow as she groaned again.  
“Come on, love, let’s get you a blood bag.” Like the gentleman he was with Caroline, he helped her up and she reluctantly moved from her bed, her hangover kicking in immediately as she held her hand to her aching head.  
As he tried to support her, she said “I’m fine.” He looked at her in disbelief until she repeated herself.  
“Seriously, I’m fine.” As she started to walk, she somehow stumbled and almost fell had it not been for Klaus’s quick vampire reflexes.  
“You’re fine?” He said teasingly as she rolled her eyes.  
“Yes, I just tripped, so seriously, just let go,” she said stubbornly. He smirked at her in amusement which made her become more annoyed.  
“Klaus?”  
“Yes, love?”  
“Let me go.” Instead, he pinned her to the wall, leaning close.  
“No.” Klaus had his typical smirk which made Caroline want to slap him or kiss him, so she chose to kiss him quickly before getting ready to go downstairs.

When they entered the kitchen, Hayley and Elijah were sitting at the table with a happy Hope by Rebekah’s side. They all exchanged greetings while Klaus picked his young child up, looking at her in awe which made Caroline’s heart swell a bit.  
“Guys, has anyone seen Bonnie?” Caroline asked. Right on cue, the witch and Enzo entered, smiling as if nothing was wrong while Caroline went into interrogation mode.  
“Hey, Care.”  
“Bonnie, Enzo. Did you forget that you’re going back today or…?” Caroline enquired, worried for her forgetful friend. Enzo and Bonnie shared a look of secrecy that was picked upon by Caroline.  
“Seriously you guys, what is it?”  
“Do you want me to tell Caroline, love, or do you want to?” Enzo asked his girlfriend who beamed and replied saying that she’ll do it.  
“Bonnie Bennett, tell me now!” The blonde was starting to become antsy and impatient, which Enzo and Klaus found amusing.  
“We’re staying here, Care. We found a place in New Orleans, just down the street.” Caroline’s face morphed from confusion to sheer excitement as she clapped her hands and went to give her best friend a hug.  
“Tell me everything, Bon!” They sat down at the kitchen island table before Bonnie started speaking about her apartment, showing her pictures of it as she either gasped in awe or in shock.  
“This place needs some work and I’m going to help you,” exclaimed Caroline.  
Bonne laughed and agreed that Caroline would sort it out for them before they moved in while Enzo grunted in dismay.  
“By the way, Elena and everyone else is coming to say bye before they go back,” Bonnie remarked before checking her phone to see if they texted her.

After half an hour, their car finally pulled up and they made their way into the compound. Bonnie, Enzo, Klaus, and Caroline were stood waiting for them.  
“Hey, Care. Hey Bon,” Elena said. The Salvatore brothers followed her in but Matt and Tyler were still in the car.  
“Hey,” Bonnie replied.  
“So, you’re off then?” Caroline turned to Stefan while Elena chatted to Bonnie.  
“Yeah,” he said, trailing off slightly before another thought occurred to him.  
“So, listen. If you need anything Care and I mean anything…”  
“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry about me.” She smiled brightly at him, starting to become slightly sentimental.  
“You know I’ll always worry about you Care. Also, if he hurts you…” Caroline rolled her eyes as this was her twentieth time hearing the same threat from her best friend.  
“I know.” They both hugged each other before being cut off by a rather angry Klaus, pining Damon to a wall.  
“Hello, mate.” He practically spat the words out while strangling Damon.  
“Damon! Oh my god,” Elena shouted with worry,” Care, Stefan, do something.” She looked at them, desperation radiating off her.  
“Klaus, please. Let go of him,” Stefan tried. Klaus didn’t peel his eyes off his victim for a second and strangled him to an extent where Elena was begging.  
“Caroline, help him!” The blonde was now facing a lot of pressure from her friends and Klaus, which worsened the situation. On one hand, she wouldn’t have minded seeing Damon be tortured for what he had done, but on the other hand, there was Elena. Caroline gave Bonnie a worried glance which was returned with a reassuring one. In other words, Bonnie wanted to see Damon pay as well but today wasn’t the day.  
“Klaus, back off. Just… let him go.” The words came out of her mouth as a forced struggle and they all knew it. He decided to give Damon a little taste of was to come and then grabbed him roughly.  
“You mark my words, you will suffer for what you put her through, mate,” he hissed causing Damon to shiver slightly. Instead of just letting him go, he threw him to the other side of the wall, leaving Elena and Stefan to run over and help him.  
“I advise you to leave before I do much worse,” Klaus said, with a smirk that was a sickening devilish grin to Elena, who scrambled onto her feet and left with the two brothers. After they left, Caroline sighed and attempted to brush past Klaus, who grabbed her arm and halted her in her tracks.  
“You didn’t have to do that. Not today.” She avoided his gaze but stood still.  
“Caroline, he deserved it. Personally, I-”  
“Save it. Just let me go, I’m tired.” He released his hold on her and the baby vampire left to get herself a blood bag, the witch trailing behind.

Caroline and Bonnie were getting prepared to go out and explore the city of New Orleans when Rebekah, Hayley, and Davina entered, all dressed.  
“So are we ready to do this, or what?” Hayley asked, a grin set on her face.  
“Ugh, I’m not happy with my hair.”  
“It’s lovely, Caroline. Let’s go,” Rebekah interjected, impatient and excited to go clubbing.  
“Bonnie, are you ready?” Davina asked before fiddling with her black dress.  
“Yeah, let’s go guys.” Once they all sorted themselves out, they made their way downstairs, only to be held up by Rebekah’s husband, brothers, and Enzo.  
“Where do you think you’re all going?” Klaus inquired, eyes never leaving Caroline.  
“Going out, Nik. Leave us be.”  
“Yes Nik, leave them be,” Kol remarked teasingly, earning a cool glare from his sister.  
“We’ll be back soon,” Davina said, reaching out to peck Kol on the cheek.  
“I would rather you take-”  
“We’ll be fine. Besides, we have 2 witches, an original, a hybrid, and a vampire.” Caroline avoided his glance as she was still irritable from earlier. They eventually made it out of the compound, all chatting among themselves when Klaus touched Caroline’s arm.  
“Sweetheart, you look beautiful tonight.” She rolled her eyes and turned around to face him, yet again deciding to avoid his gaze.  
“Caroline, look at me.” His voice was stern, so she chose to look into his eyes.  
“What?”  
“About earlier… I’m sorry.”  
“It’s fine. I’m over it,” she said honestly, and that was the truth.  
“Just let me go out with the girls and have some fun, ok?” She softened up and pecked him on the lips reassuringly, before moving towards Hayley.  
“Ok, love. If anything happens…”  
“Yeah, I know. See you.” They separated their intertwined hands from each other and Caroline walked towards the girls, all set to go.

By the time they arrived at the club, it was swarming with strangers who were either drinking at the bar, smoking, or dancing crookedly. As they all observed, Rebekah started the fun by shouting over the blaring music.  
“Stop starting and let’s actually have fun!”  
“Ok, Bonnie and Hayley, you do shots. Davina and Rebekah, find a table for us. I’m going to compel to DJ because this music is awful.” They all set out to follow the tasks that Caroline had given them. Even now, she would still organize and plan like the punctual person she was.  
After it was all done, everyone got settled at the table and did a few rounds of shots, failing to stay sober after round 3 or 4. The girls somehow made it to the dance floor without falling and danced, eventually becoming sweaty and exhausted.  
“Ugh, I’m going to get some water. Wait a sec…guys.” No one paid any attention to Caroline as she made her way to the bar.  
“Hey there,” a random stranger said. She turned around to find him staring her down.  
“Ugh go away.” She scoffed and tried to leave but the man placed a hand to her hip and his other hand to her thigh, causing her to become soberer by the minute. She chose to put her hands around his neck, gripping tightly, and then compelled him.  
“Go home, forget about me, and from now on, you will treat a girl properly.” He left immediately and Caroline lost her joyous mood from before, forgetting about bringing water to the girls.  
“Hey Care, where did you-” Bonnie said, before stumbling, caught by Caroline.  
‘Let’s go home. I’m done.” Rebekah coughed and slurred her next words.  
“You’re such a buzz killer…”  
“Whatever,” Caroline murmured  
“Yeah let’s go.” Hayley was still stumbling but she started to sober up, realizing something happened to change Caroline’s mood.  
When they were outside, Hayley hazily confronted Caroline.  
“Hey, you ok?” Caroline sighed and nodded.  
“Yeah, I’m just tired and want to sleep.” She mocks yawned but it was enough for Hayley to believe in her drunken state as she left it alone.

When the girls got back, they parted their ways, going to bed. However, Caroline walked past the study, which the Mikaelsons were in, and headed to the kitchen, obviously alerting Klaus that she had arrived.  
As she filled up a glass of water, he came behind her and placed his hands on her hip, reminding her of the stranger, so she pushed them off, becoming agitated.  
“Is something wrong, love?” She turned around and looked at his concerned face, knowing that it wouldn’t help to lie to him.  
“Honestly, no. But also, yes.” This seemed to confuse him more but she continued.  
“It’s just with everything with Damon and the other guy, it’s been tiring.” He started to draw conclusions about this guy just by the mere mention of Damon, anger, and paranoia building up inside of him, but he chose to confront her about it in a calm manner.  
“What happened at the club, love?”  
“Oh, well I tried to get some drinks and this guy tried to stop me, and yeah, that’s it.” She put on a smile that covered her worry about Klaus’s reaction. She knew that he wouldn’t buy the short truth.  
“What did he do Caroline?” He snarled.  
“He just held me by my hips and tried to kiss me, but I compelled him to go away. It’s fine.” Caroline tried to hold his hand and squeeze it reassuringly, but it didn’t help ease his anger. However, he seemed to calm himself and he took her hand in his.  
“Besides that, it was really fun with the girls tonight and Rebekah got really drunk,” Caroline said, a smile reappearing on her face.  
“Hayley almost fell and Bonnie actually did. Twice.” She giggled excitedly before continuing to recall the fun moments of the evening as they walked up to their room. Klaus enjoyed seeing her happy and laugh, even if she was slightly drunk.

Caroline struggled to sleep that night, haunted by familiar memories of Damon once again. It seemed that her constant tossing and turning had also kept Klaus awake because the images of Damon faded away and was replaced by something else. The Mikaelson ball. First, it started with the dance that she did with Klaus and then it shifted into their conversations, Klaus’s words embedded in her head. It made her smile, her eyes still shut as she was savoring the good memories. It shifted shortly thereafter to their first date, where he found her Miss Mystic Falls application and gently teased her for it. After the memories passed, Caroline rubbed her eyes and woke up to find Klaus’s hand on her head.  
“Hey,” she whispered.  
“Hello, love.”  
“Thank you for that.” She pushed herself up and moved closer to Klaus, head resting on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.  
“Anytime, love. I dislike seeing you in distress or agony.” She gave him a small and appreciative smile before pecking him on the cheek.  
“The nightmares just come and go, but I guess everything in the last few days just triggered it.” She sighed as she attempted to fall asleep in his arms, comforted by his warmth.  
“I’m sorry sweetheart. I shouldn’t have attacked him today.”  
“It’s fine. Besides, you didn’t know that drunk was going to do what he did today. Trust me, I compelled him and bossed him around so much that I think he sobered up and ran away from me.” She smiled happily at the end of it as Klaus let out a light-hearted chuckle, amused by his queen.  
“As he should be, love.” After that, she nuzzled into him and they both fell asleep peacefully. 

The next morning, Caroline stood outside on her balcony in her robe as she gazed at the busy New Orleans street in the bright sunlight. This was her new home and she finally accepted it today. All of a sudden, it finally seemed to sink in. Caroline was now her own person, living under no one’s shadows anymore and living her own life. Her smile seemed to be as radiant as the sun when she felt an unfamiliar type of relief flood through her. While she was deep in thought, Klaus came out, wearing his normal Henley shirt and jeans.  
Before he was about to speak, Caroline jumped in first.  
“Hey, you. Where did you go?” He put an arm around Caroline’s waist and kissed her temple.  
“I just dealt with trivial family matters sweetheart.” He glanced at a very content Caroline whose face was tilted upwards, towards the sun. Just glancing at his happy girlfriend was enough to make him smile and fall in love with her all over again.  
“Do you think we’ll be ok?” She questioned, staring out into the distance.  
“This relationship won’t be easy, love. We will push and argue and fight with each other, but I can promise you that I will love you, always and forever.” Her heart swelled at that and she turned herself around to face him, both her soft hands on his face.  
“Good, because I will always love you. No matter what,” she said quietly. She initiated the long, tender kiss between them and after they broke apart, the couple hovered over the balcony, watching the life of New Orleans as King and Queen.

Whatever came next was, well, something that she would face with Klaus. The big bad hybrid, who was a raging, ruthless, and all-powerful creature that somehow fell in love with the young, bright baby vampire that still had so much to see in the world. Caroline finally allowed herself to love him and fully embraced everything he had to offer her as she was finally with someone who would put her first. Of course, she knew that this life wouldn’t be easy. Not in the slightest. But if he was stubbornly determined to fight for her and their relationship, then she would do the same with the same stubbornness and determination. They were King and Queen of New Orleans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading the story!!! I hope you like it cause it was my first one and I really enjoyed writing the whole thing.  
> Note: Another KC fic is on the way too and this time, it features Katherine hehe ;)


End file.
